Bare
by Jasmin Rogue
Summary: -this story is on hiatus- After trying to stop and witnessing an attack on Fangtasia, Adrianne captures the attention of vampires and humans alike and along the way begins an odd relationship with the bar's owner, Eric Northman.
1. May His Holy Light

**ATTENTION. 1-18-2011  
FOR NOW, I WILL NOT BE UPDATING THIS STORY ANY MORE.  
Lately, I have been extremely busy and I'm currently in the process of moving across the country and starting a new job. I may continue this story again, but the chances are slim. Many, many thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, and stuck with me from chapter one. I appreciate you guys so much and I'm sorry to leave you hanging!**

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_**A/N**_  
_**So this is my first True Blood Story. Here are somethings you should know:**_

_**This story will not follow the plot line of the show.  
The main character, Adrianne Oliver, is an OC. Mostly everybody else will be in the story including Sookie and Bill, but they won't be mentioned in the first few chapters.  
Adrianne is 18 and fresh out of high school. I imagine her having curly black hair and bright hazel eyes with fair skin. She's 5'5'', so she's about a foot shorter than Eric. ******__S__**he spends most of her free time at Merlotte's, much to her parent's dismay.**_  
_**Eric is a tiny bit more solemn than he usually is in the first few chapters, but there's a reason for that. I can't tell you the reason, obviously, but I can guarantee you that he'll be back to normal very, VERY soon.  
The entire story is rated M for violence and adult themes. I'll put individual warnings on any chapters that require them.  
**__**Finally, reviews and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated. I spell checked the heck outta this thing, but there might still be some errors, so don't be scared to point them out to me.**_

_**

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**Chapter 1 - May His Holy Light  
**_warnings for this chapte_r: _Violence, language_

_Disclaimer: True Blood belongs to HBO and Alan Ball and The Southern Vampire Mysteries belongs to Charlaine Harris. All I own is the plot and the OCs  
_

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"Ask yourself this question, my brothers and sisters: Do I want my children to grow up in a world where being a dead abomination of Satan is considered being the 'hip new thing'? Do I want my children to be exposed to dark, unholy temptations of fangbanging and 'V'? I sure don't and I bet you all don't either! I'll leave you with this: What are you willing to do in order to protect your loved ones? What are you willing to risk, give and take in order to protect future generations from darkness and sin? If your answer is 'everything', then you are on the right track. You are on the path that God himself as planned for you. Have a great afternoon, brothers and sisters, and may his holy light shine upon you."

As the reverend stepped down from the podium, the entire room erupted in applause. I sat in the back row with my arms folded, hardly masking my boredom and disgust on my face.

This Fellowship of the Sun church was newly built. The organization itself was expanding. They only had a few offices and churches scattered about, but it was a few too many. My father was deeply involved with the church. He was always dragging my mother with him to meetings and get-togethers. They'd always try to drag me along, but I always had better things to do. Well, not really. I don't care much for vampires. I never went crazy over them like all my friends did. They were fascinating, of course, but I always felt that people treated them like they were demigods or something. But even I know that the Fellowship of the Sun was full of crap and hatred. Just being in this place gave me the creeps.

The only reason I agreed to come was because my father said that today was very special and it would make him look good if I showed up for once. I still didn't plan on showing up, but my mom practically begged me. It was only supposed to be for 2 hours, but after the reverend and his perky wife were done preaching, shaking hands and kissing babies, they invited my father and a few other men into the back office.

Almost half an hour had passed when the church finally began to clear out. A few other women and children and my mother and I were the only people left. My mother was chatting with the other women about recent 'disasters' caused by vampires. If I had to listen to any more of it, I'd scream. I had to get out of this place.

I picked up my bag and quietly left the room with no one noticing. I was going to go find my father, politely interrupt their silly meeting, and inform him that I had some studying to do.

I rounded a corner which led to the back rooms and I immediately heard some discussion going on behind one of the doors. I lifted my hand to knock, but their conversation stopped me in my tracks.

"_How many guys are we sending over, Reverend?"  
"We shouldn't need more than 20, but we should send James, Richard and Marty as well, just in case. Call them up and tell them to start getting their things together. Everyone moves out at 10:40."  
"I don't know about this, Reverend. I heard that the vamp who owns Fangtasia was rumored to be about 1000 years old. Are you sure—"  
"Yes I am sure. I have never been so sure in my life. God's light will protect you from whatever darkness and evil lurks there tonight. Chin up, boys. By this time tomorrow, you'd have helped rid the world of 40+ vampires and fangbangers. God will bless you for sending a message to the vampires that they're not wanted in this town or in any town for that matter. I can feel it in my bones, gentlemen. Tonight will be a good night." _

I took a step back as they began to applaud and cheer. I began to scramble back and trip over my own feet as I turned around and started to sprint down the hall. I couldn't believe what I'd just heard. They were planning an attack on a vampire bar? My father was involved with this mess? This was insane!

I ran out the church's back door and out to the parking lot. I hopped into my car, threw my things into the back seat, and sped out onto the main road, nearly colliding with a pickup truck driver. Usually, I would apologize, but I had no time. It was already 9:34pm. If I drove quickly enough, I could make it to the station by 9:50.

* * *

When I reached the station about 15 minutes later, I burst through the door and looked around for a sheriff, but no one was in sight.

"Hellooo!" I called out as I began rapidly hitting the desk bell. "Emergency!"

An old sheriff stumbled her way from the back office with an annoyed expression on her face. When you live in a small town where nothing bad ever happens, the sheriffs get pretty damn lazy.

"Yes. What's the problem?"

"Something terrible is about to happen up at that vampire bar in Shreveport." I said growing increasing annoyed at her relaxed composure. "I overheard some of the members of the Fellowship of the Sun church saying that they were planning some kind of attack in a few hours. You need to get down there and clear the place out!"

"The Fellowship of the Sun?" She said as she dismissively waved her hand. "It's probably just peaceful protesting. I wouldn't be too worried."

"You don't understand!" I said growing more frustrated and slightly frantic. "I heard them with my own ears saying that they're going to try to get rid of vampires and fangbangers!"

"I've met Reverend Jones and his wife. They're as pure as they come. You expect me to believe that they would seriously consider doing something so drastic?"

"Listen to me! If you don't do something, a lot of innocent humans and vampires are going to die. Now get off your lazy ass and get down there or I swear to God, I'll go down there myself!"

The sheriff's expression hardened as she rose out of her chair and leaned forward. "No, you listen to me, little lady! If you care so much, I suggest you pay them a visit yourself. I don't care either way and I don't think I like your tone!"

I shook my head in disbelief. "Fine! I hope you lose your job over this, you stupid hillbilly. Just remember that if people get hurt tonight, it'll be on your conscience."

I turned around and marched out the door, but not before getting the satisfaction of seeing the shocked and insulted look on her face.

I ran out to my car and started it up before pulling out onto the road.

10:03. I had less than an hour left to get there. I prayed to whatever was listening that the Fellowship didn't make a surprise early arrival.

* * *

By the time I had pulled up to Fangtasia, it was already 10:40. I had gotten lost along the way, but it wasn't really my fault. I've never been to this place before and I had to rely on street signs and my knowledge of the roads.

I sighed with relief as I pulled into the parking lot and saw that things were still lively and in place. I was running out of time, though, so I didn't even bother to turn my car off. I just left it running as I ran up to the entrance.

A beautiful, blonde vampire was standing at the door with a bored expression fixed on her face as she checked her nails.

I ran up to her out of breath and tired, but I didn't have time to compose myself.

"I.D." She said simply. Not bothering to look up as yet.

"I don't have my I.D. It's in the car. Listen—"

"You have to be 21 and older, little girl. Now run along."

"You are in danger. You need to get out of here NOW!"

That got her attention. She looked up from her nails at stared at me for a while.

"Excuse me?"

"The Fellowship of the Sun. They're coming and I don't know what they're planning, but they'll be here any minute."

Her face took on an odd expression as she glanced around then looked back inside.

"Wait here." She said as she practically disappeared back into the bar.

Not too long after she had left, I saw several vans speeding down the street. My gut twisted and my adrenaline began pumping.

"Shit!"

I burst through the door and tried to urge some people out, but the music was too loud and some people were too drunk to comprehend what I was saying. Several vampires stopped what they were doing and began to stare at me with questionable looks on their faces. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the same woman from before and a tall man dressed in black begin to make their way to the front of the bar, fangs bared and ready.

But before they could even take another step, there was a huge explosion. Glass and bricks flew everywhere and humans and vampires were thrown straight across the room. A few ceiling lights began to fall, and I was unlucky enough to get hit by two of them on my head. I tried to keep moving, but I began to get dizzy. So much was happening. People were screaming and crying and blood (which was probably mixed with a little Tru Blood) was splattered all over the place.

"Die fangers!" I heard someone yell as they began to open fire. Holy shit, I had to get out of here. I tried to grab onto a broken railing and pull myself up, but as soon as I was upright, I felt a sharp pain right in the middle of my stomach. My hands immediately flew down to where the intense pain was coming from as I stumbled back against the railing. I brought my hand up and noticed that it was covered in warm, red liquid. My blood. It was coating my hand and more was seeping from the wound. I had gotten shot and I was bleeding profusely in the middle of all this chaos.

I could feel the bile raising in my throat as I the corners of my vision began to fade to black.

Unable to hold my hand up anymore, I let it drop to my side as my eyes began to close.

TBC


	2. Breaking Free

**Chapter 2 - Breaking Free  
**_warnings for this chapte_r: _Violence, language_

_Disclaimer: True Blood belongs to HBO and Alan Ball and The Southern Vampire Mysteries belongs to Charlaine Harris. All I own is the plot and the OCs _

* * *

I began to wake up slowly. My eyes started to adjust themselves to the dim light as I began taking in my surroundings. Nothing looked familiar. Everything was old and kind of dusty. Nothing like the smooth wood and shiny surface tops of my own home.

My hand drifted to my stomach and felt around for the wound I was pretty sure I didn't dream up, but nothing was there.

I sat up, looking around and rubbing my eyes. Where was I? How long have I been asleep? My throat was dry and I attempted to swallow, but that sent me in a fit of coughs.

"You need water."

I heard a voice, but I saw no one. I scrambled back onto the bed and pulled the sheet back up to my chest. "Who's there?"

A figure began to emerge from the corner of the room. As he stepped into the light, I noticed it was the same vampire who I saw in Fangtasia right before…

"You're alive?" I said as I backed up further against the bed's headboard. "I'm surprised anybody survived."

"You survived." He said simply.

"I was shot." I said distantly. "I remember getting shot." My mind flashed back to when I thought I was spending the last moments of my life on a grimy, dingy bar floor. The pain was unbearable and my blood was running down my stomach and staining the front of my clothes.

"How am I alive?"

"I fed you my blood and your wounds were healed." He replied patiently, his calm expression never changing.

"I WHAT!" I said a little too loudly, causing my dry, irritated throat to send me into another coughing fit.

"You were dying. Would you have liked for me to leave you there?" He said as he slowly raised an eyebrow and stood up. When he got no answer, he simply stated again: "You need water."

I watched as he turned his back to me and to pour some water into a glass. He was very tall. He looked almost a whole foot taller than I was. And he was pale and porcelain in the dim room light.

He turned around, holding a glass in his hand as he walked over to the bed.

"Drink."

I took the glass with shaky hands and raised it to my lips. The cool water felt like heaven in my dry mouth and I greedily gulped it down. When I was finished, I lowered the glass and looked up at him through my lashes. He was staring at me with an expressionless look on his face.

"Thank you." I said, and then hesitated before adding, "For everything."

He didn't reply.

We sat in silence for a while. I didn't know what to say to him and I felt a little awkward.

A few minutes ticked by before he finally broke the silence.

"What is your name?"

"Adrianne. Adrianne Oliver." I said quietly as I placed the empty glass on the bed side table. "And yours?"

"Eric Northman." He said simply before continuing on, "I'm guessing you probably want to return to your own home now, am I correct?"

I didn't really want to, but I thought of my mother and how terrified she must be right now, so I nodded and mumbled, "Yes."

"Very well," He said as he stood up and headed for the door. "There are some Fangtasia tshirts and shorts in the closet. Find something that fits and meet me outside." With that, he turned and left, closing the door behind him.

* * *

After changing my clothes and wandering around the old, wooden house looking for an exit, I finally found the front door and stepped out into the musky southern air. From here, I could see Eric sitting in his car, waiting patiently for me. I felt extremely bare in the short shorts he provided for me, but it's not like I really had a choice, did I? I nervously tried to pull them further down to cover my legs as I approached the car. As I got closer, I could see his smile.

"Something funny?" I ask as I got into the passenger seat.

"I couldn't help but notice your displeasure in the clothes you're wearing." He said as he stared pointedly at my lap.

"I don't feel comfortable in anything mini." I replied as I tried to cover my lap with my hands again.

Eric grinned and twisted the key in the ignition. "Relax. It suits you well."

I looked at him as he turned away and pulled quickly out of his driveway. I lowered my gaze after a while and leaned back into the seat, a small blush rising to the surface of my cheeks.

We drove in silence for a while and it was peaceful. The place didn't look like anywhere I'd recognized, so I guessed his house was probably out of town. A question that has been bothering me since I woke up kept nagging at the back of my mind. Eric seemed calm and I guessed that now would be a good time to ask him.

"Eric." I said as I turned to look at him.

"Yes?"

I cleared my throat. "How many people died in Fangtasia?"

He turned his eyes away from the road to look at me. He let a few moments pass before he turned back. I noticed that his grip on the steering wheel tightened.

"Only 3 human patrons survived. 15 vampires got out completely without a scratch. Most of them, including my own progeny, were badly wounded by the silver. A few were not so lucky. My newest right hand, Chow, being one of them."

"Your progeny?" I asked after a brief silence.

"Pam. They lady you spoke to a few moments before the attack."

"Is she alright now?" I asked, turning bodily towards him.

Eric didn't answer for a while. I was growing accustomed to that, however. I just waited.

"She will be back to normal in a matter of days." He added, finally.

"I'm so sorry, Eric." I said. In my mind, I immediately started to blame myself for not getting there faster.

"You shouldn't be sorry. You didn't cause any of it, did you?"

I shook my head silently and stared out the window at the trees whipping by.

"I find it strange that you show little interest in the outcome of the Fellowship attackers." Eric said as he turned to look at me.

I stared at him for a while before turning to look out the window again. A part of me knew that the remaining 15 vampires probably killed them off or left them beaten black and blue all over. I didn't need to ask Eric about their fates. "They were begging for a death wish, doing what they did. People with that much hate in them don't deserve my interest."

* * *

We pulled onto my street and Eric parked the car in front of a driveway a few houses away from my own. From here, I can see that the living room lights were on and my father's car wasn't in the driveway. My mom was most likely home alone.

"I want you to come in with me." I said to Eric as he turned off the car. "I want you to meet my mother."

"Don't you think it's a bit too soon for that?" Eric said with a teasing smile on his face.

I couldn't help but smile back. "It'll never be too soon. You saved her daughter's life."

Eric was silent.

"She has a bit of a fear of vampires. Once she sees that it was a vampire who brought me home safely, it'll ease her fear."

Eric glanced down the street at my house before looking back at me. His smile was completely gone now. "I don't play nice with humans."

"You played nice with me." I replied and then added. "Please?"

"I will walk you to your door and you will return to your family. Alone. I suggest you don't tell them were you have been for the past few days."

I sighed with defeat and opened the car door to get out. By the time I had shut the door, he was already leaning against the car, an odd expression on his face. "Lead the way."

I walked slowly up to my drive way and then up to my porch, Eric walking behind me with barely audible footsteps. When I reached the front door, I turned around quickly only to bump right into his broad chest. It was like running into a wall. He didn't move an inch.

"Thank you again." I said as I stepped closer. "For everything."

I leaned in to give him a quick peck on his cold cheek. His expression was blank as I stepped back, but his lips were twitching like he was holding back a smirk. "You're welcome."

I gave him one last smile before I turned around and knocked on the door. I turned back to look at him again, but he was gone. Just then, the door was snatched open to reveal my mother's frantic face.

"Adrianne?" She asked quietly. "Oh, my God!"

She grabbed me into a tight hug, squeezing the air out of my lungs and making it hard for me to breathe, but I didn't care. I felt tears beginning to form in my eyes as she sobbed into my shoulder.

She pulled back after a while, her makeup smudged and her eyes bright and red.

"Come inside!"

I let her lead me inside before she pulled me into another crushing hug. Over her shoulder, I could see empty cups and phone books laid open on the coffee table.

She pulled back far enough to look at me.

"I'm so glad you're home. I thought…"

Her sentence was interrupted by my father's voice from upstairs.

"Sharron, who are you talking to down there?" I heard his footsteps coming down the steps and I began to wonder if I should tell him off now or later when my mother wasn't present.

He rounded the corner and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw me. "Adrianne?"

I didn't respond. I just stared at him, hatred and disgust boiling in my stomach.

"Where the hell have you been? Your mother and I were worried sick about you!" He said, slamming his fists on the dining table.

"Arthur calm down! She just got in –"

"Stay out of this, Sharron!" My father yelled. "You keep babying her like this and she's going to think it's alright to run away whenever she wants to. God knows where she's…"

He trailed off and stared at my T-shirt. "Is that is Fangtasia t-shirt? WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?"

"I was there when the Fellowship shot up the place, Arthur." I deadpanned, stepping closer to him and away from my mother. He stared back, his face taking on an ugly shade of red.

"What the hell were you doing there!"

I ignored him. "I was SHOT and I almost DIED!"

I can hear my mother's pained gasp in the background. "Adrianne… Oh, no."

"A _**VAMPIRE **_healed me. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be alive right now!" I said, stepping closer again even though my father's internal rage was near to bubbling over. "If he knew I was the daughter of a disgusting MURDERER like you, he would have probably left me to die or killed me himself. Does anyone know that the Fellowship was behind all those deaths, dad? DOES MOM KNOW THAT YOU WERE A PART OF IT?"

My father snapped. He charged towards me, raising his hand and slapping me hard across my face. I flew back against the kitchen counter, blood dripping out of my mouth.

"None of this would have ever happened to you if you weren't in that bar!" My father hiss stepping over me to yell in my face. "Please do not tell me you disgraced yourself by fangbanging and fraternizing with vampires!"

"I was there to warn them. I HEARD WHAT YOU ALL WERE PLANNING TO DO! I WAS THERE TO TELL THEM ABOUT YOUR STUPID LITTLE PLAN." Tears were burning my eyes again, but I hid them. I wouldn't let him see me cry. "It didn't work like it was supposed to, did it, Arthur? All those young, stupid boys got killed doing you and your Reverend's dirty work! Their blood is on your hands!"

He raised his hand to hit me again, but my mother intervened.

"No, Arthur! Stop it!" She grabbed his arm before he could land another blow. He turned around, grabbed her and threw her back, making her bump her head against the cupboards. He then pointed a threatening finger at her and hissed, "I told you to stay out of this!"

"You asshole!" I took his distraction as a chance to kick him between his legs. He cried out in pain and staggered back. I got up and ran to my mother who was a bit dizzy after hitting her head. I tried to help her up, but he was quick, grabbing me by my hair and dragging me back into the dining room.

I kicked and slapped as hard as I could, but his grip was too tight. I could hear my mother screaming for him to stop as he picked me up and pushed me into the wall.

"I did everything for you! I gave you whatever you wanted, I let you reject my religion and I let you associate with those sinners down at Merlotte's and this is how I get repaid!" He was snarling in my face now, his hand wrapped tightly around my neck. "If any of this gets out... IF YOU JEOPARDIZE MY FUTURE WITH THE FELLOWSHIP, I SWEAR ON HIS HOLY NAME, I WILL END YOU!"

"Fuck you!" I chocked out, still trying effortlessly to push him off.

"Arthur she can't breathe!" I heard my mother scream as she staggered towards us.

Just then, the back door blasted open. I tilted my head to see Eric pacing outside, fangs bared.

"Adrianne you have to invite me in!" He said, gripping the door frame and nearly pulling it clean off.

My father released his hold on my neck and ran to the living room where I knew he was keeping his silver bullet loaded gun. I gasped for air then shouted, "Eric, please, PLEASE come in!"

Eric moved in a blur at the same time my father started shooting after him. I ducked and crawled over to my mother, holding her down as I tried to pinpoint Eric's exact location.

He stopped directly in front of my father and grabbed the gun, bending it with one hand and dropping it on the floor. My father reached into his pocket and pulled out several silver crucifixes before throwing them in Eric's face. Eric doubled over in pain, letting out a loud, animalistic roar while trying to pull them out of his burning skin.

My father took that opportunity to run and get his other gun. I stood up and ran after him. He reached it almost as soon as I did and I knocked it out of his hand. He pushed me back and reached for the gun, but Eric appeared before him with lightning speed, knocking him back and picking the gun up and breaking it as if it was just a toy.

I could see the terror in my father's eyes as he gazed up at Eric's murderous face. It was bloody, but healing right before our eyes. He looked so primal and deadly that even I felt fear.

Eric walked up to my father and picked him up by the neck until his feet dangled.

"Mr. Arthur James Lincoln Oliver," Eric said calmly as if he was not just in a tussle. His fangs retracted neatly, giving him a slightly less frightening appearance. "A proud member of the Fellowship of the Sun Church."

"H-how do you know my name?" my father said, trembling so hard that I could hear it in his voice.

"I've known about you for a while now, Mr. Oliver." Eric drawled, shaking my father lightly.

_He'd known about my father all along?  
_

"You are one of the few responsible for the deaths of my friends and the searing pain of my one of my family members." Eric's grip was tightening and my father began to choke, his eyes began to bulge and his face was turning purple.

"Eric!" I screamed, "No! Please don't kill him!"

Eric's eyes flashed at me and he looked almost unable to control himself. "YOU WISH TO SHOW HIM MERCY AFTER WHAT HE HAS DONE HERE? AFTER WHAT HE HAS PARTICIPATED IN?"

"He's my father, Eric." I half-crawled over to him and looked up at him with begging eyes. "My mother is here. You can't…"

Eric snarled and threw him to the floor, leaving him gasping for air. "The AMV will be alerted about your location and your hidden agendas. Whatever they decide to do against you will be well deserved."

My eyes fell back to the floor. I felt weak. As much as I hated my father, I couldn't stand by and watch Eric kill him in front of my mother. I looked up at her. She was frozen in shock as she stared at my father cowering on the floor.

"Pack your things. You are not staying here," Eric said as he picked me up almost gently by my waist. "Go now!"

I didn't hesitate. I ran upstairs and grabbed a bag, shoving underwear, clothes and toiletries into it. I picked up the picture of my family that was taken last Christmas. I tore my father's face out of it, crumbled it up and threw it on the ground. I tucked the picture into my bag and ran downstairs. Everybody was where I left them when I walked back into the living room. My father was on the floor, reciting bible verses and my mother was staring at everything in disbelief.

"If you leave, don't ever come back!" I heard my father hiss as he began to rise up. "You'll be dead to me."

Eric took a step forward, snarling and baring his fangs again.

I lightly touched his shoulder and took a step forward to my father. "Go to hell, you evil son of a bitch. You're dead to me now as well. I don't know who you are. My father left when the Fellowship moved into our lives."

He looked up at me, his left eyes twitching violently. I'm sure if Eric wasn't there, he'd have killed me right then and there.

I then walked over to my mother and gathered her hand in mines. "Mom, please come with me."

My mother stared at me before looking at my father. He looked back at her with angry, boiling eyes and she gently pulled her hand away me and shook her head. "No."

I stared at her, tears finally streaming down my face as I tried to make eye contact. "This is not the life you want. I know it isn't. This isn't what you planned for yourself when you got married."

"I vowed to my husband in the light of God." She then looked over at him again, regret painted all over her face. "Now go."

She pushed me back gently, tears sparkling in her eyes as she made her final choice.

I shook my head and stepped back, picking up my bag and turning away from them both. Eric placed his hand at the small of my back as I stepped through all the debris and maneuvered my way through the hole in my wall where the back door used to be.

I walked up the street to where Eric's car was still parked. He took my bag and placed it in the trunk before climbing into the driver's side. I followed after him, sitting in the passenger seat and trying not to think about the aftermath of all this. I just wanted my head to be clear for a while.

I could feel Eric's gaze on me as he started the car, but I couldn't bring myself to look at him.

He pulled out onto the street and sped off into the darkness.

I tried my hardest not to look back.

TBC…


	3. Can't Catch a Break

**Chapter 3 - Can't Catch a Break  
**_warnings for this chapte_r: _adult themes  
_

_Disclaimer: True Blood belongs to HBO and Alan Ball and The Southern Vampire Mysteries belongs to Charlaine Harris. All I own is the plot and the OCs _

I asked Eric to take me to Sam's place. He stared at me for a moment, but didn't say anything as he sped up. After I gave him the directions, we drove in tense silence for the rest of the trip. My mind was in too much of a chaos to try to engage in awkward conversation. It was almost 4am when Eric stopped in front of Sam's place. I got out of the car and grabbed my bags.

"Thanks." I said as I turned back to look at him.

"I'll be seeing you around, Miss Oliver." He said with a small smirk before he sped off back in the direction he came from, his tires kicking up a trail of dust.

_Well then…_

When his car was out of view, I turned around and walked up the dusty path to Sam's. The door flew open before I even got a chance to knock.

"Adrianne?"

"Hi Sam." I said as I walked up to him.

"Jesus, kid!" He said as he stepped outside and pulled me into a hug. "Where've you been? Come inside."

He took my bag and stepped aside so I could walk in. I quickly shuffled in and made my way to his kitchen table. I sat on one of the chairs and waited for him as he took my bag to his room. When he came back, he pulled out one of the chairs and sat down, staring at me with concern written on his face.

"You wanna tell me where you been?" he said as he reached out and took one of my hands, inspecting a few bruises there.

"It's a long story, Sam." I said with a sigh.

"I ain't got nothin' but time." he said quietly, trying to make eye contact. "We've all been worried about you. Your dad has been runnin' in and out of the bar, checkin' to see if you were there every day. He was worried."

I laughed humorlessly as I finally looked up at him. "If he cared so much about me, we wouldn't have nearly strangled me to death tonight."

"HE WHAT?" Sam said a little too loudly, causing my already aching head to pound. "What the fuck he do that for?"

"If I tell you the whole story, do you promise to stop screaming?" I replied getting up and walking over to the sink to get some water.

"Yeah. Ok."

I took a deep breath as I filled a glass with cool water.

"I overheard the Fellowship of the Sun saying that they were going to attack Fangtasia. I went to the sheriff for help, but I was ignored so I decided to go there myself. When I got there, I tried to get some people to leave, but there was an explosion. I ended up getting hit in the head and shot in the stomach then I blacked out. When I woke up a few days later, a vampire named Eric Northman told me that he gave me his blood to save my life then he offered to take me home. When I got home, my dad flipped out on me because I told him that I overheard their plans. He hurt my mom and probably would've killed me if Eric didn't show up again. Eric nearly killed him, but I had to practically beg for him not to. He told me I shouldn't stay there and my dad told me that if I left, I couldn't comeback. I asked Eric to drop me off here and I'm really tired so can I crash here for a while? I promise I'll be out of your hair soon."

Sam stared at me for a whole minute as he took everything in. Finally, he nodded. "Of course you can stay here. You can stay as long as you want. Jesus Christ, Adrianne. You almost died."

"Yeah." I said dazedly. I was kind of mind boggling to think about, so I pushed it out of my head.

"You can take the bed." Sam said, changing the subject when he saw my discomfort. "I can take the sofa."

"No, no. I'm fine on the couch!"

"I insist. You look like you've been to hell and back. You need a good night's rest." Sam said sternly as he pushed me toward his room.

I rolled my eyes and smiled. "Thanks, Sam."

"No problem." He said as he turned to leave. "If you need anything, I'll be right out here."

I smiled again before I turned and flopped down on the bed. I stared up at the ceiling and tried to forget everything for a while. Before long, I was fast asleep.

* * *

_I woke up in a place I didn't recognize, but I strangely felt completely comfortable being here.. The bed I was laying in was huge and white and everything felt smooth and soft. It felt like I was wrapped in clouds. The room was warm and the yellow light made everything look golden and bright. There was a distinct, familiar smell in the air. I couldn't place what it was exactly, but it was sweet._

_Somebody shifted next to me before an arm encircled my waist, pulling me flush against them. I turned in their arms, raising my eyes to stare at their face._

"_Eric…" I spoke his name softly and he smiled slow and devious. _

_He pushed me back until I was flat on the bed again before slowly moving to lie on top of me. I closed my eyes when he lowered his cold lips to mines, coaxing me into a kiss. As the kiss deepened, he ran one of his hands up one of my bare thighs as the other slipped behind to cradle my head. He broke this kiss, leaving me panting for air as he trailed more open mouthed kisses down my chin, jaw and finally, my neck._

"_Adrianne…" he whispered teasingly into my neck as he gently shifted one of my legs to make space for himself between them._

_I whimpered as I heard the soft noise of his fangs dropping. He chuckled darkly as he lightly kissed my neck again. "I bet you taste delicious."_

_I felt a shiver run down my spine and the anticipation was welling up in my stomach. I couldn't take his teasing anymore. "Oh, God. Eric."_

_His laughter was a low rumble and I felt it all through my body. "What do you want me to do, Adrianne. Tell me."_

_"Bite me." I whispered as I raised my arms to wrap them around his shoulders.  
_

_He cupped my neck in his cold hands and tilted my head sideways before dropping his head to my neck and piercing my skin with his fangs and -_

I shot up gasping for air and sweating so hard that my skin felt clammy and gross. I looked around and realized that I was still in Sam's room. I had fallen asleep with all of my clothes on, including my shoes.

The dream felt so real. I didn't even want to admit to myself that I was pretty upset about waking up.

"Fucking vampire blood." I mumbled to myself as I dragged my body out of bed. I'd read on the internet that drinking V can cause someone to have sex dreams about the vampire they drank from. I wondered to myself if this would be happening forever because I don't think I would like to have dreams like that every night for the rest of my life.

I glanced at the clock. 1:24pm. I needed to take shower, change my clothes and head out to Merlotte's.

After bathing and eating some of Sam's leftovers, I left for Merlotte's. I knew that everyone would be up in my business about where I've been and I wasn't sure if I wanted everyone to know.

When I walked through the door, everybody was busy chatting and laughing and no one noticed me. I tried to make my way to Sam's office as quickly as possible, but I was spotted by loud mouth Jean Walters. Perfect.

"Adrianne!" She yelled loudly, making everyone look up. "Adrianne Oliver?"

I froze awkwardly and pasted on a fake smile. "Hi Mrs. Walters."

She walked over to me with a bright smile on her face before he yanked me into a hug, squishing my face with her chest. "You don't know how good it is to see you! Where have you been? Your momma has been worried sick!"

"I just…" I stopped and looked at Sam as he came out of his office. "Needed to relax. I've been with my friend."

"Why didn't you tell anybody?" She said as she placed her hands on her hips. "Especially your daddy. He has been here every afternoon for the past few days."

"Well I saw him last night." I said, lowering my gaze and avoiding eye contact with everyone. "I was just getting ready to move out, you know?"

She leaned in closer as if she was getting ready to hear hot gossip. "Move out? Why? Is something wrong at home?"

Sam chose the perfect moment to step in and grab my arm lightly. "Excuse us Mrs. Walters. Adrianne is actually here to speak to me about a job."

She pulled a face and smiled sourly at me. "Alrighty then. I'll let yall get to it. I'm just glad she's alright."

Sam turned away and led me into his office, but not before I heard people mumbling and whispering.

"_All this worrying everyone has been doing and she's just been out 'relaxing'? I feel so bad for her mother. Remind me to give her a call and -"_

I sighed as I walked to the back and slumped down in Sam's chair.

"They'll get over it." He said as he walked in, followed closely by Sookie.

"I cannot believe you." She said coming to stand in front of me.

_Oh no. Here it comes._

"You could have at least let us know!" She said looking down at me with an angry and slightly confused expression on her on her face. "I was worried sick for nothing?"

Sam came up to stand beside her. "Sookie, it's not like that…"

"Sam!" I snapped. I shook my head a little, indicating that I didn't want Sookie to know either.

"What?" She said looking at me then looking back at Sam. "What are yall hiding?"

She turned to stare at me intently and I knew what she was getting ready to do. I immediately started trying to clear my mind and picture an ocean view. It didn't work. All the images of the last few days flooded my mind and she saw all of it… including the dream I had about Eric.

She immediately stepped forward and stared sympathetically at me "Adrianne… What…?"

"Stay out of my head, Sookie!" I snapped. It didn't phase her one bit. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around me, holding my head to her shoulder and stroking my hair.

"I don't know exactly what you've gone and gotten yourself into, but it all looked horrible, Adri. I had no idea you got trapped in that attack on Fangtasia." She leaned back and rubbed my arm. "It was all over the news. And your father… I don't even know where to begin."

I felt a few tears escaping the corner of my eyes and I quickly wiped them away when I noticed that Sam was still in the room leaning up against his desk.

"I'm fine now, though. That's the most important thing, right?" I said as I looked up at her.

"You and Eric… Did you guys…?" She trailed off then waved her hand. "You know."

"Oh no! God, no!" I said as I glanced at Sam. I could feel my cheeks turning scarlet.

Sookie turned to stare at Sam, giving him a 'we need privacy' look.

He rolled his eyes as he turned to leave. "Fine."

When he left, I turned back to her. "It was just a dream. We never did anything like that."

She nodded slowly. "It was like that with Bill and me. The dreams are reoccurring. Not every night, though. It might stop happening after a while."

"Do you know Eric?"

She sighed. "Unfortunately, yes."

"Unfortunately?" I asked, tilting my head slightly.

"He's not the nicest person. Let's just say that." She paused and looked at me. "I know him through Bill. He isn't very tolerant of humans, so I can't put my finger on why he saved you."

I thought about that for a while before she spoke up again. "Just be careful. When he does someone a favor, he usually expects them to pay him back."

She stood up and tugged me by my arm so I could stand up as well. "We'll talk about the whole thing after work, ok? Arlene, Sam and I are the only ones here right now and they're probably breaking their back out there by themselves."

I grinned, stood up and followed her out. "I can help if you guys want. I don't have anything else to do."

She turned and smiled at me. "Why, thank you! I don't think Sam will mind and we really need an extra pair of hands!"

* * *

Later that evening, around 8pm, I found myself in the kitchen with Lafayette, laughing so hard that my stomach began to ache and cramp. Sookie grinned and playfully told us to hurry up with the orders before people started demanding their food.

Lafayette was right in the middle of explaining to me how to get Mrs. Walters to stay out of my business.

"Look at her in those saggy, cocked eyes and say, 'Look, heifer. It ain't none of your business. Ask me again and I'll tell everyone that I know what you've been doing with Mr. Boatwright!'"

"That is just rude!" I said as I giggled again. "Wait… She's really been with Mr. Boatwright?"

"I must've let that slip." I he said slyly as he turned back to the stove. I let out another bark of laughter, then realized that it was too loud. I embarrassingly stopped laughing and noticed that it wasn't my laughing that changed; it was the entire place that went completely quiet.

Lafayette turned to look at me then we both made our way out to the bar. Everyone was sitting quietly and staring at something. When I fully rounded the corner, I immediately stopped in my tracks and stared directly at Eric's back.

"I'm here to speak with Adrianne." He said calmly to Sam and Sookie.

"What business do you have with her?" Sam said stepping from behind the bar to walk up close to Eric.

"I don't believe that is any of your business, _shifter_." Eric said as the corner of his mouth tilted up, forming a tight smirk.

Sam glared at him, but offered no answer. Sookie stepped past him and got up in Eric's face.

"I'll ask you, then." She said as she narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you want from her? I know it can't be anything good!"

Eric's expression never changed as he leaned forward into her personal space. "Nice to see you again Sookie. It's been a while."

"Wish I could say the same! It hasn't been long enough!" Sookie retorted, folding her arms and looking up at him in disgust.

I moved to step out from behind the corner, but Lafayette grabbed my arm.

"I'll be fine." I whispered to him.

"Yes. She'll be fine. She's a big girl." Eric drawled, never taking his eyes off of Sookie.

Sookie whipped her head around to stare at me as I walked towards them. Something about Eric was… different. I couldn't place my finger on it, though. Maybe Sookie was right about him.

"Mr. Northman." I said walking up to stand next to Sookie.

He turned and smiled at me, his gazed lingering on mines a moment before he stepped away from Sookie. "We're on to formalities, now?"

I didn't answer, but I continued staring at him, trying to figure out what was different about him. He seemed more… arrogant.

"I would like for you to come with me. Someone would like to have a few words with you." He said as he took a seat at the nearest table.

"May I ask who this person is?" I said

"Nan Flanagan." He answered simply. "She would like to speak with you about your… experience."

I thought about it for a moment. I knew who she was and I respected her greatly. I used to watch her on different news programs when my parents weren't home. I even visited her website.

"Alright." I said with a short nod. "I'll go."

"Wait, what?" Sookie said as she stepped in front of me. "Adrianne I don't think this is a good idea."

"Oh God!" Someone drawled from behind us over by the pool table. "I am growing very irritated with you."

Heels slowly click-clacked over to where we were standing and I turned around to see the same woman who was at the front door when I came to warn them about the attack. I remember Eric telling me that her name was Pam and she was his progeny. She was the one who had gotten badly hurt. Well she was obviously better now. I wondered if that was why his attitude was back to the way Sookie described it.

She flipped her blond hair over her shoulders and placed a perfectly manicured hand on her hips.

"Why can't you ever have a seat and let the big kids handle their business?" She said as she looked down at Sookie.

Sookie matched her gaze and leveled her shoulder. "I'm not afraid of you, Pam."

Pam smiled and leaned closer to her so only Sookie, Eric and I could hear. "You should be, sweetie. I can end your pathetic little life in a blink of an eye."

She said it with a sugar coated smile and that made it even more disturbing for some reason.

"Pam." Eric said as he rose up and stood next to her. "That's enough."

Sookie looked visibly shaken and she swallowed thickly in her throat and backed down. I felt terrified for her. Pam wouldn't do something like that in front of the whole bar, right?

When Pam didn't move, Eric spoke to her smoothly, but strictly, in Swedish. She finally backed off and turned to eye all of the customers in the bar.

"I'll be fine, guys." I said as I turned to Sam.

Eric grinned again and stepped aside as I walked to the door.

"Don't worry your little heads. I'll have her back to you without a scratch." He said to them before turning to me. "I promise."

Pam led the way, striding out the door with a look of satisfaction on her pale face. I looked back at Sookie one last time before I followed Pam out to the car.

Eric walked out after us. Through the windows, I could see people peeping out at him. We got in the car and Eric started it up.

Just then, a flash of grey rushed past the car. It stopped and I realized that it was Bill. He probably sensed that Sookie was in trouble.

"Perfect. We're leaving just in time. I just had my nails done and I don't think they'll survive a fight." Pam said as she pulled out her makeup bag. Eric laughed softly and pulled out of the parking lot and towards the road. I looked out the back window and saw Sookie run into Bill's arms, shouting about something as he tried to calm her down. She was yelling about me, probably.

Or the fact that Pam just threatened her for what seemed like the first time.

Either way, it didn't seem to bother Pam or Eric as we sped down the road. Both of them were engrossed in a Swedish conversation. I tipped my head back and stared at the ceiling of the car, willing this ride to be over as soon as possible.

* * *

_Well folks, that's the 3rd Chapter. I started on the 4th chapter and it should be done in a couple of days._  
_Please review :D!_


	4. Nan Flanagan

**Chapter 4 - Nan Flanagan**  
_warnings for this chapte_r: _hardly any. This one is pretty moderate._

_Disclaimer: True Blood belongs to HBO and Alan Ball and The Southern Vampire Mysteries belongs to Charlaine Harris. All I own is the plot and the OCs _

By the time we'd reached our destination, I'd already fallen asleep. I was startled awake by the sound of a door slamming and a knock on the window.

"Rise and shine, buttercup," Pam said as she grinned at me through the window. "We've arrived."

I stretched and opened the door before climbing out of it and looking around dazedly. We were parked in front of a huge hotel. I knew immediately that we definitely were not in Louisiana anymore. "And where exactly have we arrived to?"

"Mississippi," Eric said as he waited patiently a few feet away. "Jackson, to be exact."

A valet walked up to take Eric's car and Pam turned to stare at the building before us. "I have no idea why she made us drive all this way. She's the one who wanted to speak to you, not the other way around!"

Eric appeared next to Pam and gave her a stern look. "Show some respect, Pam. Behave."

"Well, I hate sitting in cars!" Pam said as she smoothed her outfit. "I spent an hour picking out this perfect outfit and now it's all wrinkled!"

Eric rolled his eyes before turning to walk towards the entrance. I giggled into my palm and followed him with Pam trailing slowly behind.

* * *

The inside of the hotel took my breath away. Everything was red, white and black. The lights were dim and the setting was rich and leisurely. Everything looked expensive! There was a huge chandelier hanging from the roof that sparkled in the dim light and I couldn't help but stare at it as I walked slowly across the lobby.

There were a few people scattered about; all either going to or coming from their rooms. A few were chatting with each other, too engaged in their own conversations to notice me staring at them like a weirdo.

We walked up to the front desk and was immediately greeted by a perky young woman wearing a tight black dress and a name tag saying 'Jenny McFigley'

"Good evening! Welcome to the Marilynn Hotel. How can I help you this evening?"

"I'm here to see Nan Flanagan." Eric said as he leaned on the desk. "Can you call her and tell her that Eric Northman is waiting."

The desk clerk flashed him a big, bright smiled and said, "Of course," before turning to pick up the phone and dialing a few numbers.

"She's too bubbly. Her smile gives me the creeps." Pam said under her breath as she folded her arms and twisted up her face.

I laughed quietly and Jenny looked up at me with an eyebrow raised. I quickly turned to look at something else and tried not to make it apparent that I was laughing at her.

"Alright. Will do, ma'am." Jenny said as she ended the call and typed something into her computer. She looked up at Eric again, that same bright smile stuck on her face. "Ms. Flanagan is holding meetings in room 203 on the 28th floor. She said you can go up when you've settled in."

"Settled in?" Eric asked as he leaned back. "What does she mean by 'settled in'?"

"Ms. Flanagan has booked rooms for you all. Two light blockable suits. One of the suites has an adjoining bedroom for your… human." She paused and looked at me before continuing.

"Both of the rooms are double sound-proofed and 100% tested. No matter how much noise you make," She paused and gazed at Eric again. "No one will hear a thing."

I folded my arms and immediately felt a weird, unpleasant feeling at the pit of my stomach. I wasn't ready to admit to myself that I knew deep down that it was definitely jealously.

Eric shifted and I was a little disappointed that I couldn't see his facial expression from behind him. He said nothing, though, and she went on speaking. "Ms. Flanagan also wanted me to inform you that she would like to see you before 4am because she has an early evening tomorrow and she can't afford to stay up late."

She then turned and handed Eric our room keys, making sure to brush his hand with her fingers.

"Is there anything else I can help you with, Mr. Northman?"

Before Eric could answer and before I even realized what I was doing, I stepped forward and said, "No. That'll be all, thank you!"

Pam laughed and Eric turned back to look at me with a slightly surprised and humored look on his face. Pam turned to walk to the elevator, still snickering and Eric followed her, brushing me slightly as he walked past. Jenny stared at him as she watched him walk away then her gaze fell on mines.

"Have a wonderful stay." She said dryly as she narrowed her eyes at me. I flashed her a sarcastic grin before turning around to catch up with Pam and Eric as they made their way to the elevator.

* * *

Instead of going to our rooms, Eric and Pam decided to visit Nan first.

"Let's just get this over with." Pam said as she stepped out of the elevator.

I guessed that it was around 2am. I was starting to get a bit tired, but I tried to stay alert. I didn't want to show up looking like a zombie. Eric lead the way and stopped in front of Nan's room. He lifted his hand and knocked 3 times. The door opened slightly and someone peeped out before opening it wider revealing a man (human, I was guessing), dressed in a fancy suit and tie.

He stepped aside to let us in and Eric walked in first, followed by Pam and finally, me.

The room was huge and brightly lit. The two huge sofas in the room were occupied by several vampires who all looked up as we walked in. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see more vampires filing in from several different corners of the suite.

"Mr. Northman," Someone said from behind me. I turned around and came face to face with Nan Flanagan, looking exactly like she did on TV; pristine and porcelain. "I wasn't expecting you so soon."

"I figured the sooner, the better." Eric said as he turned around and stared at everyone in the room.

"Better early than late, I suppose." She replied as she turned to survey the vampires in the room. "Excuse us."

The vampires quickly got up and left the room. Only 3 people stayed: A young Asian girl who looked no older than 16, a tall, pale man who was leering at me from his chair over by the fire place, and a medium-dark skinned woman with long curly, light brown hair and an incredibly short leather dress on.

"Please," Nan said as she sat on one of the sofas. "Have a seat."

I sat down and twisted my hand in my lap. Pam and Eric took a seat on either sides of me and I felt surrounded by vampires. I have never been in a room with so many of them before. Well, except for that night in Fangtasia, but that doesn't count.

"Hello, Adrianne." Nan said as she smiled slowly at me. I'm assuming you know who I am, so our introductions aren't necessary, am I correct?"

"Um, yes. I know who you are." I said as I sifted in my seat.

"Good." She said simply as she turned and gestured for the Asian vampire to fetch her something. The girl came back with a brown folder and sat next to her on the couch.

"Who are they?" Eric said as he looked at the remaining vampires in the room. "You said this meeting would be confidential."

"My assistants," Nan said with a sigh as she opened the folder and scanned it. "Aiko, Darcy and Tasha. You don't have to worry about them. I didn't complain about you bringing Pam along, did I?"

I heard Pam's voice hitch in her throat and I turned to see at her scowling slightly.

"Adrianne Natalie Oliver," Nan said as she continued looking down at the folder. "Eighteen years old and resides in Bon Temps, Louisiana. Daughter of Arthur and Sharron Oliver who are currently deeply involved with the Fellowship of the Sun church."

Nan looked up at me as if she was waiting for an answer. I didn't know what to say to that. I felt a little creeped out knowing that she had all of this information.

"I must say," Nan said cutting the silence as she closed the folder and set it down on the table, "You're much more beautiful in personal that on the picture I have of you on file."

"Um, thank you." I said as I turned to look at Eric. He glanced at me then looked back at Nan.

"With all due respect," Eric said, barely masking his irritation, "I want to believe you didn't have us bring her 240 miles just to tell her how beautiful she looks."

"Of course not," Nan said as she let her smile fade. "Let's get down to business."

She crossed her legs and took off her glasses before looking at me again.

"It has come to my attention, as well as every other high ranking vampire, that you witnessed firsthand an attack against Mr. Northman's vampire bar in Shreveport, is that correct?"

"Yes." I answered quietly.

"The American Vampire League has kept quiet since the attack. We've refused questions and press conferences until we had a little proof. I mean, it's obvious that this was done by the Fellowship, but unless we had at least an eyewitness, we may have more skeptics than believers. We need a human eyewitness. That's where you come in."

"You want me to be an eyewitness and speak publicly about what I saw?" I said as I slowly took everything in.

"Not **'an'** eyewitness. **'The'** eyewitness. You're all we need." She said as she leaned back in the couch and folded her arms. "Once the public hears your story and sees that some of their hatred almost caused the death of an innocent 18 year old girl, we'll get more supporters. And with more supporters, comes more chances of vampire protection laws."

"Vampire protection laws." I repeated to myself as I thought it over. "Things like this would be less likely to happen."

"Exactly." Nan said as she stood up and walked over to a minibar.

I let the idea run through my head for a while before I looked up and said, "I'll do it!"

Eric shifted beside me and I looked at him. He stared at me for a while before he looked away.

Nan walked back to the couch with a small smile on her face and a glass filled with red liquid in her hands. "Good. Now, I've planned a press conference for tomorrow evening—"

"What?" Eric said, speaking up for the first time since the conversation began. "That's a bit short notice."

"The sooner the better," Nan said slowly as she stared at him, willing him to interrupt her again. "I've gotten you rooms to spend the day in. The conference will start at 8pm and not a minute later."

She turned to me again. "Now there are some things I don't want you to mention. The first thing is what we discussed in this meeting, ofcourse. Second, I want you to forget you ever drank Mr. Northman's blood. If they ask you how you made it out without a scratch, tell them…" She paused to think for a second. "Tell them Pam saved you from the blows."

"What?" Pam said as she uncrossed her arms and leaned forward.

"We can use you as a reference." Nan said simply. "If they ask you if it's true, you can just say that you took a few bullets for her and almost died. It's half true; we might as well run with it."

I looked at Pam then at Eric. Both of them were silently seething, but Nan didn't seem to notice at all. And if she did, she didn't show it. "Finally, don't mention the number of Fellowship members that attacked that night. They all died and the body count is too high and unacceptable. If the public found out that they were all murdered by vampires, all of this would be for nothing. Humans would go back to looking like the victims and we'll look like the monsters. Do you understand?"

"Alright." I said as I looked up at her.

"Good. Now," she said as she rose up from the couch and walked over to where we were sitting. "You should get some rest. There are only a few hours until dawn and we have a big day today, don't we?"

I stood up and made my way to the door. I couldn't wait to get out of here. Pam reached the door first, grabbing the handle and pulling the door open before stomping off as fast as she could in the direction of the elevator.

"And Adrianne…" Nan said as I reached the doorway. "I'll be sending down something I want you to wear tomorrow since you didn't bring any clothes."

I turned and nodded before walking out the door with Eric following a few steps behind me.

* * *

We walked in silence to the elevator where Pam was waiting and pacing back and forward. When she saw us coming, she locked eyes with Eric and immediately started whispering angrily to him in Swedish.

"Jag hatar henne!" Pam said as she pushed the elevator button repeatedly. Eric and I stared at her silently as she continued to grumble in Swedish. When the elevator finally came, we gathered in and Pam finally calmed down.

"Feeling better?" Eric asked as he turned to Pam.

"I need to take my anger out on one of those pretty little things I scoped out at the blood bar." Pam said as she held out her hand to Eric. "Give me my key."

Eric smiled and handed her her room key.

The elevator stopped on our room floor and Eric and I got out.

"Don't wait up for me." Pam said as the elevator door shut and continued descending down to the ground level.

Eric turned to me and stared. His gaze felt heavy and I started to fidget with my hands. "What?"

"We'll talk about it in the room." Eric said as he turned and walked down the hallway. I followed behind him quickly and almost bumped into him as he stopped abruptly in front of our room.

He quickly swiped the room key pushed the door open before tugging me inside.

"You don't have to be so rough!" I said as I pulled my arm away from him.

"You have no idea what you just signed yourself up for." Eric said, staring at me.

"What do you mean?"

"When you go to that conference and you everyone all you know about the Fellowship, they will try to silence you." Eric paused for a moment before adding, "Permanently."

I hadn't thought about that.

"But… Nan. She will protect me, right? I mean, I'm doing her a favor!" I said looking up at Eric in the darkness. "Right?"

Eric didn't answer; he just turned away from me and stared out the window.

"I'll just go and cancel." I said stepping back towards the door.

"It's too late for that. There's no canceling with her. You'll just have to…" He trailed off. "It was a bad idea bringing you here. She told me she had questions. That was all it was supposed to be."

Everything went quiet again and the only thing audible was the sound of my breathing and the tiny fountain somewhere in the room.

"Eric?" I said quietly, stepping closer. "You're going to be there, right?"

Eric turned and looked down at me before gripping my shoulders with his hands. "I didn't drive 3 hours just to drop you off and go back home."

At that moment, I felt an urge to step closer and lean into him, but I fought the idea and just settled for smiling up at him like a stupid teenager. He slowly dropped his hands from my shoulder and trailed them down my arms. I lifted one of my own hands to play with the hem of his leather jacket as he moved closer until our chests were almost touching. He leaned down a little as he brought his hand back up to cradle the back of my head. I went with the flow, tilted my head up and leaning forward until our lips brushed once, then again. I pulled back slightly; a little hesitant and unsure if that was a mistake.

"Eric. I—"

"Shh," He said softly, silencing me immediately as he moved in again, capturing my lips with his own. It wasn't my first kiss, but it definitely felt like it. It was overwhelming and I could feel my stomach flip flopping.

After a while, I pulled back slowly, needing to catch my breath. He grinned at me and took a few steps back before unzipping his jacket and dropping it somewhere on the floor. He stepped closer to me again before raising his hand to my cheek and stroking it softly.

I moved closer and raised one of my hands to his blond hair. I stood up on my tip toes and ran my fingers through it slowly before tugging him back down and meeting his lips again with my own.

Though kiss was still gentle, it was a bit heavier this time around. Eric took the lead quickly. He wrapped his strong arms around me and pulled me against his hard chest. His hands travelled up to the buttons of my shirt and began to unbutton them one by one.

Just then, the door swung open and I jumped back, startled. The lights flickered on and revealed Pam, standing at the doorway with an amused look on her face.

"Am I interrupting?" She said as her gaze travelled from me to Eric.

I quickly began to button my shirt back up and tried desperately to ignore the chills running up and down my spine.

"Yes, Pam, you are." Eric sighed with an irritated look on his face.

"Well don't let my presence stop you!" She said as she watched me fix my clothes.

"Pam!" Eric said, drawing her attention back to him. "What are you doing in here?"

Pam sighed. "The stupid desk clerk was so busy batting her eyes at you that she missed the fact that she gave us the same key!"

"Well why didn't you just go get another key?"

Pam's smile lit up and she giggled. "Well… I brought someone back and it's only 2 hours until dawn, so…"

A girl who was hiding behind Pam poked her head through the door and waved. Eric rolled his eyes.

"Go to your own room."

"Fine!" Pam said as she shot Eric a glare before turning to grin at me again. She spun on her heels and left. The girl she brought up scrambled down the hall behind her, trying to keep up.

I moved quickly to shut the door and leaned against it for a while. When I turned around, Eric was standing in front of me. He smiled as he reached up and brushed some hair out of my face. "Shall we continue?"

"I think I should just go to bed." I said quietly as I tried to ignore the voices in my head telling me to tackle him to the floor. "It's really late and I don't trust that she won't be back."

Eric backed off and folded his arms with his smile still fixed on his face. "If we go to my room and lock it, she won't see us in there."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "Goodnight, Eric."

I turned and walked slowly to my adjoining room. I could feel his gaze on my back as I opened the door and slipped inside.

I closed the door, flopped down on my bed and stared up at the ceiling.

If I didn't dream about Eric tonight, I was definitely going to have nightmares about Nan Flanagan or The Fellowship.

* * *

A/N

**_Jag hatar henne_** translates to **_I hate her_** in Swedish, I believe.

_**Anastacia Lynn** - thanks for giving the story a shot. I couldn't really write a good summary with such a short space._  
_**serenity6** - Aw sorry. Sookie won't be a main character, but she's needed for future chapters. _

everyone else; thanks for reading and reviewing! I really appreciate it and it keeps me motivated!


	5. I Don't Trust Him

**Chapter 5 - I Don't Trust Him**

_warnings for this chapte_r: _a little bad language and descriptions of nudity (unfortunately, it's not Eric this time). Also, there may be a few typos. Sorry.  
_

_Disclaimer: True Blood belongs to HBO and Alan Ball and The Southern Vampire Mysteries belongs to Charlaine Harris. All I own is the plot and the OCs _

* * *

I jumped awake from a nightmare of being trapped in a burning building and not being able to get out. I lay in the bed panting and trying to catch my breath. I swore I could taste ashes in the back of my throat.

I rolled over and glanced at the sleek digital clock on the bedside table. I squinted my still tired eyes and waited for it to adjust to the only really bright light in the room. They weren't kidding when they said that the rooms were going to be really dark.

The clock read 11:27am and I groaned as I rolled over on my back again. No wonder why I felt so out of it. I barely got any sleep! I knew that I wasn't going to go back to bed, so I decided to get up and go find something to do.

I dragged myself out of bed and felt around for a lamp. They were touch activated, so all I had to do was brush it with my fingers and the room was suddenly filled with a bright yellow light. I squinted my eyes as they slowly began to adjust to the brightness and stumbled my way to the door.

I opened my door and stepped out into the living/dining area of the suite, using the light from my room to navigate the way. When I made it to the other lamp without tripping over anything, I quickly tapped it and turned around to check out the place once the lights flickered on.

I didn't really get a chance to really look at anything last night because of… what happened with Eric, but I doubt the place looked like this. The room was disarrayed and there were a few pieces of clothes thrown about.

From there, the first thing my eyes landed on were someone's breasts. Then I noticed the blood. It stained patches of the cream carpet and some of the sofa pillows. The owner of the boobs was still as death and, assuming she was human, that was not a good sign.

I began to panic a little as I stepped beside the sofa and looked down at her, laying sprawled out with a pillow flopped over her head.

I shook her gently at first, almost too scared to touch her. "Hey lady. You alright?"

I got no answer, so I shook her harder and thankfully, she began to stir.

"Mmm?" She groaned as she felt around for my hand before pushing it away. "I'm up, I'm up. Jesus!"

I took a step back and tried to avert my eyes away from her naked form as she moved around in the sofa like a fish out of water. Finally, she pushed the pillow away from her face and turned up to stare at me. "What the hell do you want?"

That voice sounded annoyingly familiar. I turned around and I threw politeness out the door when I realized who I was speaking to.

"Hey. You're that desk clerk lady…"

"Jennifer, actually." She said as she sat up and reached behind the couch for something. "Jesus. What time is it?"

"What are you doing here?" I asked as I folded my arms and frowned down at her.

She turned around quickly with a huge smile on her face and a cigarette in her hand, "Do you really need to ask that?"

She got up and walked over to the small coffee table and picked up a candle. She lifted the cigarette to her lips and lit it with the candle.

So the annoying desk clerk who most likely slept with Eric last night was currently walking around in my suite, naked and smoking a cigarette. I felt my patience thinning as I watched her walk around the room, picking up miscellaneous clothing items. When she was finished, she sat back on the couch flicked on the TV.

"Um, excuse me." I said as I waved to get her attention. "Hi. Yeah. I think you should leave now."

She shook her head and turned back to the TV, "Neh. I'm waiting for Eric."

I huffed and grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. "Did he ask you to wait for him?"

"Well… no."

"Then I think you should leave." I said slowly, making sure she understood what I was saying.

"I don't think he would mind if I just hang around." She said, taking the remote from my hands and turning on the TV again. "He seemed fine with me here last night."

This conversation was getting tiring and annoying very quickly.

"Don't you think that if he wanted you to stay he would have let you sleep on his bed and not on the couch like some sort of cheap entertainment?" I asked before standing in front of the TV. "Look at you. He didn't even drink from you properly. He wasted your blood all over the living room."

She stared at me for a few seconds before turning around and looking at her blood staining a few areas of the room as if she was seeing it for the first time. She stood up and picked up her clothes before quickly putting them on.

I stood off at the side, staring at her and trying to hide my disgust. I noticed that she did well hiding her bite marks. They were all scattered around her thighs and lower abdomen. The fresh one on her neck, however, was going to take a little more effort to hide.

When she was finished, she grabbed her bag and walked to the door. "When Eric wakes up, tell him he'll know where I'll be if he wants me."

"Yeah, whatever," I said as I crossed the room to close the door and lock it as she left.

I stood there wondering why I felt so… betrayed. I know I had no reason to because he was _Eric_. I didn't expect sworn monogamy after just one silly, little kiss. That still didn't change the fact that I was still feeling pissed and a bit jealous. I suddenly couldn't stand being in the suite and seeing Jennifer's little spatters of blood all over the place.

A tap on the door pulled me out of my thoughts and I looked through the peep hole to make sure it wasn't _**her**_ again. I was greeted with the sight of the man who answered Nan's door yesterday. I slowly opened the door and gazed curiously at him.

"Um… hi."

"Good morning, Ms. Oliver. May I come in?"

"Sure." I said as I stepped aside to let him pass. As I went to close the door, I was stopped by a hand blocking the doorway. I opened the door again to see Darcy: one of the Nan's assistants from last night.

"How are you walking around in the day time?" I asked as I watched him tote a few bags inside.

He flashed a smile at me as he set the bags down on the coffee table. "I'm not a vampire, love. Just pale."

"I see." I said as I closed the door and turned around to look at them. "So…"

"I see you and Eric had a nice time last night…" Darcy grumbled as he surveyed the messy room.

I blushed. "What? No! He had fun with someone else."

Darcy gave me a sideways look and opened his mouth to say something when the butler guy (I should really learn his name) intervened.

"We're here to deliver the clothes Ms. Flanagan mentioned last night."

"Oh! Right." I said as I sat down on the nearest chair that didn't have blood on it. "Let's see it, then."

The butler guy smiled before he turned around and started unpacking the bags one by one. He laid the clothes on the coffee table and aligned them neatly next to each other. From here, I couldn't actually see what the clothes were.

When he was finished, he turned around and stepped off to the side so I can see the clothing items.

"Ms. Flanagan has taken the liberty of choosing 2 outfits for you. One is for you to wear during the day while you wait and the other is for the press conference tonight." He then reached into bag #1 and pulled out a pair of jeans and a plain grey t-shirt. They were similar to what I usually wore daily so that was alright. To be honest, I was expecting a pant suit or something, so seeing just regular jeans was kind of a relief.

My relief was short lived, however, when he pulled out the contents in bag #2.

"This is for you to wear tonight." He said as he presented a pleated black skirt and a cream shirt.

"Are you serious? That'll make me look like a Catholic school girl!" I said as I stared at the outfit in horror.

He turned to look at me like I was daft. "Of course. Remember, Ms. Oliver, we're going for the innocent look. The skirt is short enough that you won't look completely innocent. And the shirt is very casual, don't you think, Mr. Darcy."

I turned to Darcy and saw him not even attempting to hide his smile. "It sure is."

"Ugh." I groaned as I turned back to the butler guy. "Why can't I just wear my jeans? That will make me look like a _normal _teenager. A pleated skirt makes me look like I'm trying too hard."

The butler guy sighed and placed the items back into the bag. "_Normal _teenagers are likely to fangbang… especially when they've just turned 18. A good little girl who dresses like a little lady will do no such thing. Besides, this isn't up for discussion. Ms. Flanagan made the rules and I suggest you cooperate."

I sank back into the chair and folded my arms as he went on talking like my opinion didn't really matter at the moment.

"In the last two bags are your shoes and underwear. There are toothbrushes, combs, soaps and towels in the bathroom. You should go wash up and get something to eat."

"Fine." I mumbled as I stood up and grabbed the bags with my regular clothes and underwear.

"I'll lock the door on the way out." I heard the butler guy say as I walked towards the bathroom.

"Yeah, yeah…" I droned and I heard Darcy chuckle softly behind me as I shut the bathroom door.

* * *

The clothes fit perfectly. Right down to the underwear and the shoes. I was a little worried about how Nan would know all my exact sizes, but I brushed it off and gave myself a once over in the mirror. My hair was nearly a mess as usual. My wild, black curls always refused to cooperate, but it was still a little damp from the shower, so it was easy to wrestle it into a loose ponytail.

I stepped out of the bathroom and was about to resign myself to ordering room service when I heard a voice behind me.

"We should get lunch."

I turned around to see Darcy over by the minibar, rummaging through it. He stood up straight with a sigh and turned to look at me from behind the brown hair that fell over his eyes. "There aren't any snacks left in here."

"Jennifer must have eaten them all." I said as I walked over to where he was standing.

"Jennifer?" Darcy asked as he folded his arms.

"The girl Eric had over last night." I mumbled bitterly as I glanced at his door across the room.

Darcy mouthed an 'Oh' before smiling at me and tilting his head towards the door. "Come on. They have good food here."

"I don't know…" I said dubiously as I bit my bottom lip. "I don't think Eric—"

"I'll have you back before your boyfriend wakes up." He said as he rolled his eyes and walked towards the door.

"He's not my boyfriend." I said before quietly adding, "I barely even know him."

"Then come on." He replied as he opened the door and looked at me expectantly.

I gave Eric's door one last look before I turned around and followed him. After all, it was about 12:30 and I was a bit hungry.

"After you." He said as he flashed me a smile again and held the door open.

I walked past him and out into the hallway and he closed the door and walked next to me as we made our way quietly to the elevator.

* * *

As it turns out, Darcy was actually kind of awesome. He was funny, smart and really, REALLY good looking. A few hours later, we were sitting in the hotel's lounge and he was telling me about his first time meeting Nan.

"I was so scared that I almost fainted." He said with a small laugh. "I mean, at that time, I had already met a lot of vampires, but she was pretty intimidating."

I giggled a little and took a sip of my orange juice. "So what did you used to do before you started working for Nan?"

"I worked for a blood donating company. All I did was test the people who were donating to make sure they didn't have any diseases that can harm or weaken vampires." He paused for a while before continuing. "One night I was dropping off a shipment of blood to this very hotel and Nan was in the lobby. She stopped me and asked me if I was interested in working for her."

"Just like that?" I asked incredulously.

"Just like that." He repeated as he looked at me. "I didn't start working for her immediately, but a couple months after I met her, I started."

"Wow."

"Yeah. One day, you're testing blood and living in an apartment with 3 other guys, and next thing you know, you're working for a famous vampire and living in a penthouse by yourself for the first time in your life."

"People would kill for your luck."

He laughed and his voice rang in my ears like music. "I know that, but it's also a hard job. You have to do things you aren't comfortable with."

I frowned. "Like…?"

He looked at me for a moment before saying, "Let's leave those stories for another time. How about you? I've been talking about myself for the last hour."

I nodded at his change in topics before I proceeded to tell him about myself. Just the basic things like where I grew up, what I liked to do, what my life was like before this whole craziness happened. It turns out that we had quite a bit in common, actually, and that made me interested in him even more.

We were so engrossed in our conversation that we didn't notice that the sun outside was beginning to set.

"Wow." Darcy said as he looked around then down at his watch. "It's 6:10."

"Did we seriously sit here for almost 6 hours?"

"Looks like it." He replied with a small smile. "I should probably get you back to your room."

"You don't need to get me back anywhere!" I said with a giggle as I stood up. "I'm not a baby. I could find my way."

"And what sort of gentleman would I be if I let you wander off by yourself?"

I blushed slightly and pushed my chair in before waiting for him to do the same. We then walked to the elevator, continuing our conversation as we slowly made it up to my room.

* * *

When we finally reached my door, I paused before opening it. I turned back to look at him as I fidgeted with my hands. "Thanks for hanging with me today. I really needed to kickback for a while. The last few days have been extremely stressful."

Darcy smiled. "I can't imagine. Hey, it's no big deal. You're pretty easy to talk to."

"Are you going to be at the thing tonight?" I asked as I looked down at my shoes.

"I can't. Nan has me working in the day time for the next couple weeks, so actually sleeping at night is a priority." He paused for a minute before continuing. "But, good luck, yeah?"

I felt disappointment settle in my stomach, but I ignored it and gave him a small smile. "Thanks."

Just then, the door behind me opened and I turned around to see Eric, standing in the doorway with his eyes fixed on Darcy. He was in nothing but a towel, but I hardly had time to really appreciate his half nakedness before he was stepping in front of me and towering over Darcy.

He turned towards me and calmly said: "Inside."

Every bone in my body wanted to rebel, but the look on his face made me keep my mouth shut and stare at Darcy who was now almost completely foreshadowed by Eric's frame.

"I guess I'll see you later." Darcy said as he offered me a small wave. Eric's voice rumbled in his throat, but he said nothing else.

I gave Darcy a sympathetic look before stepping inside the room and closing it behind me. Pam's violet outfit caught my eyes from over by the sofa and she shook her head as I made eye contact with her.

"You just can't keep out of trouble, can you sweetheart?" she said with a sigh.

"What?" I asked distractedly as I tried to hear the conversation outside.

"Go get dressed." She said as she folded her arms and crossed her legs. "We leave in 30 minutes."

"What is Eric talking about with Darcy outside?"

Pam flashed me a little tight smile and her perfectly painted lips parted slowly before she looked down at her nails. "Listen, sweetie. You shouldn't worry that pretty little head of yours. I'm sure they're just having a nice civilized conversation about the weather. Now I'm really trying to play nice with you, but I didn't get my minimum required hours of beauty rest and my patience is wearing a little thin this evening. I don't like repeating myself, but I'll do it this once and JUST this once only. Go. Get. Dressed."

I blinked a couple times and Pam raised an expectant eyebrow at me before nodding her head towards my door.

"Alright." I droned before walking off in the direction of my room.

"Good girl."

* * *

When I had emerged, Eric was leaning against the wall, completely dressed, with his arms folded as Pam lingered next to him.

"Well, don't you look lovely?" Pam said as she turned to survey my outfit. "After this shit is over, you should keep the outfit. A few adjustments here and there and it'll be perfect for Fangtasia."

"Very funny, Pam," I said as I stumbled a little in my black heels. "This outfit is atrocious."

"I think it looks quite well on you." Eric said with a small smirk and Pam made a noise of agreement.

"You would think any teenage girl in a school girl outfit looks 'quite well'." I said as I folded my arms.

"Not really." Eric said as he turned to look at me, "I'm actually have high standards."

"Well your standards definitely aren't high enough or else you wouldn't have settled for Jennifer."

"Who?" Pam interrupted as she turned to look at Eric then back at me.

"The bimbo desk clerk who gave you the wrong room key." I said to Pam and watched in amusement as she turned to Eric and raised her eyebrows at him

"When did you get such horrible taste?"

Eric ignored Pam in favor of flashing me that damn smirk. "Do I sense a bit of jealousy? And I wouldn't need the services of — what's her name? Jane? — if you didn't leave me so… tense last night."

I gaped at him for a while before placing my arms on my hips. "I am not jealous! And besides, you're the one who seemed jealous when I was with Darcy."

Eric's cocky smile faded in a blink and I subconsciously took a step back as he moved closer to me. "You should stay away from him."

"You can't tell me what to do." I said, trying extremely hard to stop my voice from shaking. "He's nice and if I want to continue seeing him, I will."

"I do not trust him," Eric said as he stepped closer. "I do not trust anyone who works for Nan."

"I can take care of myself. I don't need you protecting me."

Eric took a step back, but he continued looking down at me. "You can repeat yourself when you are bleeding to death in my arms again."

I didn't know what to say to that because I knew that he was right. When dealing with vampires, I did need protection. That doesn't mean that I agreed with the whole Darcy thing, though.

"If you two are done," Pam said as she grabbed her bag and strolled over to the door. "We should probably get going sometime soon if we plan on getting there on time."

I stepped around Eric and walked over to the door where Pam was waiting for us expectantly. I opened the door and stepped out into the hallway then waited for them to follow. As Eric stepped out into the hall and closed the door behind him, I walked a few steps ahead.

I could hear Pam and Eric talking behind me in Swedish. At that moment, I didn't think that I've ever wanted to know Swedish more in my life.

* * *

A/N

Sorry this took so long. I was in Virginia with my friend's parents and they had** no internet**. Hippies.  
I changed the summary! Let me know if I should leave it or change it back!  
**Question: **How do you guys feel about Darcy and Jennifer? Like them? Hate them?

_**ElizabethDawn **- Your review was the first lenghty one I've gotten. And I was so happy when I saw that you liked the Pam and Eric dialog. I LOVE when they bicker on the show so I just HAD to include it in the story. _

Thanks everyone else for reading, reviewing, and adding my story to your favorites and story alerts! It makes me happy!


	6. Acting in Impulse

**Chapter 6 - Acting on Impulse  
**

_Warnings for this chapte_r: _bad language, violence  
_

_Disclaimer: True Blood belongs to HBO and Alan Ball and The Southern Vampire Mysteries belongs to Charlaine Harris. All I own is the plot and the OCs _

* * *

The press conference was being held in one of the hotel's business rooms. So far, it was partially empty with only a few humans and vampire scattered about.

The room was big and spacious. Almost everything was white and professional looking. The number of chairs in the room scared me a little. And the camera crew setting up their equipment wasn't helping either.

"Adrianne!" I turned around and saw Nan walking towards me with a bright smile on her face that almost looked genuine. Almost. "Pam, Eric. Glad you could make it as well. Pity you're late and the conference is about to start soon."

Eric and Pam looked at her blankly, both of their postures relaxed and uncaring. She raised her eyebrows at them before lightly touching my arm and gesturing to a door. "Come with me. The conference will begin in a few minutes and you don't want people coming in to see you standing here doe eyed."

She led the way without checking back to see if I was following. I turned back to look at Eric and Pam before following her.

Once we were in the room, Nan took off her glasses and sighed. "Right, then. Why are you wearing so much makeup?"

I heard snickers behind me and turned around to see Aiko, one of Nan's assistants, sitting in a chair near to the door.

"Just a bit of mascara…" I said as I turned back to Nan.

"Just a little? It looks like you applied it with a marker." She mumbled as she walked over to a row of cabinets. She came back over to where I was standing and held out some facial wipes. "Wipe it off."

I frowned as I took the wipes and began to wipe off the mascara around my eyes.

When I was finished, Nan smiled at me and turned around. "I'll be right back. I'm going to go check the progress of things outside. Might as well get comfortable and calm your nerves. You're looking paler than I am."

She strode off to the door and I glared at her retreating back. When the door closed on her way out, Aiko hopped off of her chair walked over to me.

"How old are you?" She asked as she circled me.

"18." I answered. "You?"

"I've been alive for 106 years." She said from somewhere behind me. "But I was turned when I was 14; right before my 15th birthday."

I whipped my head around to stare at her. "Oh my god! You're young."

She threw her head back and laughed at me like I just told a good joke. "My body is young, but please believe me when I say that I am not a child."

I nodded and shifted a bit before I walked over to one of the other chairs in the room. It was extremely cold in here and at this point, I couldn't decide if I wanted to leave this room or stay in here forever.

Aiko stared at me for a while before speaking again, "Are you Eric's?"

"Eric's what?" I said as I turned to look at her.

She rolled her eyes before sitting on the chair next to me. "His human. Do you belong to him?"

"Uh, no. I don't belong to anyone."

She tilted her head to the side and gave me an odd look. She was about to say something when the door opened again. Nan slipped into the room and closed the door behind her. "Showtime. Let's go."

I got up quickly and walked to the door. My heart was already beginning to hammer in my chest and Nan reached out to place her hand on my shoulder. "They're just starting out there. I'm just going to give a speech, let you answer a few question, then we'll be out of there in no time."

I swallowed. "Is this going to be on live TV?"

"Well, of course," She said as she straightened my now wrinkled shirt. "So no slip ups, please."

"I don't remember you telling me any of this." I mumbled as I twisted away from her hand.

Nan's expression changed from calm to irritate in a matter of seconds. "I expected you to know these things already."

There was a tap on the door and a man with a headset cracked the door open and looked inside. "They're ready for you two."

Nan nodded and turned back to me. "Don't make me regret this."

I frowned at her and she turned around and led the way outside. I followed her out the door and almost stumbled when a bright light flashed right in my eyes. Then another.

They were taking pictures of Nan and I as we walked over to the podium. I wanted to lift my eyes and find Eric, but I was too nervous to look up. I felt faint.

Nan walked up on stage and I followed her as she stood on the podium. The man at the microphone shook hands with her then smiled at me before instructing me to take a seat behind her. He sat next to me and folded his hands in his lap as he looked up at Nan again.

Nan waited for the people in the audience to sit before she leaned forward and spoke into the microphone.

"Good evening. I'm glad you all showed up tonight…"

Her voice drifted away when I finally raised my eyes to look at the audience. Even though Nan was the one speaking, everyone was looking at me. Some had pity in their eyes, while others looked less than sympathetic.

I scanned the crowd and finally saw Pam standing off towards the back of the room. She was pretty easy to find since she was the only one wearing pastel colors. She wasn't looking at me, though. Instead, she was admiring her nails in the bright light with a bored expression on her face. Eric was standing beside her. His hands were in his pockets and his eyes were fixed entirely on me as I fidgeted up on stage.

He smiled a little. If I wasn't paying so much attention to him, I probably wouldn't have known the smile was there.

He broke eye contact with me to look over at Nan and I was broken out of the temporary trance I was in.

"Adrianne…" Nan's voice ran clear as a bell in my head and I turned to look at her. She was looking at me expectantly and I noticed that she must have been trying to get my attention.

"Are you ready to take the podium?"

_No._

"Uh, yes. I'm ready." I said as I stood up and tried to find a reason to avert my eyes from the crowd. I lamely looked down and adjusted my skirt as Nan went on talking.

"Very well," She said as she turned back to the audience. "This is Adrianne Oliver. She's 18, got good grades in school and has no public record of negative behavior. She was our only human survivor."

Nan paused for dramatic effect and I cringed as everyone in the room gasped and started mumbling amongst themselves.

"She was generous enough to come and answer a few of your questions tonight in order to shine a light on what it was like for humans and vampires alike to get trapped in the middle of all that chaos. Remember to please stay positive and be respectful."

Nan was silent for a while as she let everyone take in what she said. When she was satisfied with the looks of anticipation on their faces, she stepped back and nudged me towards the microphone. Immediately, people stood up and started shouting questions at me. I blinked a couple times before looking back at Nan. She stepped forward and spoke into the mic again. "One at a time, please. Let's start with you."

She pointed to a short woman with glasses and she stood up and adjusted her papers.

"Hi, Adrianne. I'm Tina Reed from the Daily Times. Would you mind telling us why it took you so long to come forward about the whole thing?"

I squinted against the camera lights and leaned forward before speaking. "I was recovering and I was nervous about telling anyone the truth. I finally decided to talk about it now in hopes of getting people to understand that hurting innocent vampires and humans is not the right way to voice your frustrations. I want people to understand that The Fellowship is not as peaceful as they claim to be."

The lady jotted something down in her book before smiling at me and saying, "Thank you."

When she sat down, someone else stood up.

"Do you know the exact number of humans and vampire victims?"

"I can't remember how many Fellowship members there were, but I remember that the club was as big as this room and very full. Most of them were vampires, but about a third of them were humans."

The questions went on for a while longer varying from hard topics like my parents, to easier subjects like what my life was like before the Fangtasia incident.

I said everything Nan wanted me to say. I didn't mention Eric and his blood or the fact that I hung out in Sam's bar when I had free time. I left all of those things out and, instead, focused on mentioning what charity work I'd done and how many Fellowship get-togethers I'd been to.

Even though the running cameras and staring eyes still frightened me, everyone was pretty respectful and udnerstanding. That is, until an overweight man who looked as though he was pushing 50 stood up.

"Ms. Oliver. Can you please enlighten me as to why you were even in a vampire bar that late at night? If I'm not mistaken, you have to be 21 and over to get into vampire bars all over the country. And while you're at it, explain to me how you managed to escape completely unharmed while everyone else around you perished and the whole building practically burned to the ground."

Nan stepped in front of me and spoke up. "I don't think—"

"I can answer this." I told her. She looked at me for a few seconds before tucking her short blonde hair behind her ear and stepping back.

I turned back to the big burly man, suddenly unafraid of the cameras and the people.

"I was there to warn the bar patrons of what was going to happen. I was at a Fellowship service with my parents when I overheard the Reverend, my father and their closest companions discussing the plan."

The crowd began to murmur and the man shifted on his feet.

"Secondly, I survived because I was saved… by a vampire." My eyes immediately flew to where Eric was standing and I swallowed before continuing. "Her name was Pam and she worked with owner of the bar. She took a bullet for me. I just had a concussion."

_Just like we rehearsed. _

"Is that all you wanted to know, Sir?" I said as I tore my eyes away from Eric and focused on the man in front of me.

He stammered for a while before mumbling and taking his seat. "That would be all."

An older woman stood up and looked at me sympathetically. "What was it like in there?"

I paused for a moment and the whole room went quiet. The only sound audible was the A.C. blowing cool air.

"It was terrible." I said I looked down at her. "Imagine being trapped in a burning building and hearing gunshots and screams all around you. I kept wondering if my last moments on Earth were going to be wasted soaked in blood and choking on smoke."

I stopped, looked down at my hands, and took a shaky breath before continuing. "I kept wondering if I was going to see my mom again… my friends. Everyone around me was just… dying."

I looked up at Eric again and I could feel the tears beginning to burn the back of my eyes and well up at the corners. "If it wasn't for the vampire that saved me, I would have been dead instead of here right now. I owe them my life."

Eric broke eye contact with me and looked away. I stood there for a while before lifting my hands to wipe away the tears that escaped and rolled down my cheeks.

Nan's hand rested on my shoulder and I looked back at her. She nodded and I turned back to the microphone. "Thank you."

Nan began to gently pull me back as she stepped up to the microphone. "No more questions."

The lady smiled sadly at me and sat down before scribbling away in her notepad. Soon, mostly everyone was talking amongst themselves or taking notes as Nan led me to the stage steps. Behind me, I could hear the man starting to speak to the crowd. I could feel everyone's eyes on my back as Nan led me to the back room door and opened it so I could slip inside.

Once inside, I tried to take a deep breath to calm my nerves, but it wasn't working. My tears kept falling and I tried hard to hide them from Nan and Aiko, who was still sitting where we left her, but that wasn't working either.

The door opened and I jumped a little, but I was calmed a little when I saw it was only Pam, followed closely by Eric.

Nan ignored them in favor for smiling at me brightly.

"You did wonderful." She said as she walked over to the room's mini refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water along with and a bottle of Tru Blood.

She walked over and handed the bottle of water to me before opening her Tru Blood and taking a sip.

I stared down at the bottle. My hands shook slightly as I twisted the cap and brought the water to my lips. Nan waited until I was done before continuing.

"You handled everything perfectly. You did make the small mistake of not looking at the audience directly, but that's alright. But the tears and description of the incident were just perfect."

I lifted my eyes to look at her. "I wasn't acting for your benefit, Nan. Besides the lies you had me tell, everything was true. Especially the emotions."

She grinned at me for a while and said, "Of course it was. Now, I'm going to set up other press conferences, meetings, web campaigns—"

"Wait what!" I said loudly, momentarily interrupting her. "I'm not doing this again. You got the sympathy and support you wanted!"

"There can never be too much sympathy and support, dear." Nan said with a tinge of frustration in her voice.

"I'm not doing it!" I said as I folded my arms. "I can't."

Nan stepped closer to me and gripped my chin with her cold hands. "You listen to me—"

I heard a loud noise before a blur of and black and blond wooshed past me and suddenly Nan's hands left my face.

I looked around the room and saw Eric pinning Nan against the wall. Their fangs were bared as they hissed and growled at each other. Aiko stood up, but Pam was quicker than she was. She knocked Aiko back onto the chair before flicking her own fangs out as well. "Let the grow ups handle their business, kiddo."

Aiko snarled, but made no move to get up again.

_Holy shit._

"The Magister will have your fangs ripped out for this!" Nan said as she struggled against Eric's hold. He was too strong for her, though, and her attempts to push him off were worthless.

"You may not put your hands on a human that belongs to another vampire." Eric said as he pushed her back even more. The wall began to crack and flake behind her. "You of all people should know that."

Nan laughed bitterly. Her huge, white fangs sent a chill down my spine. "Do you think I'm stupid, Mr. Northman. I know she does not belong to you. And even if she did, you're still out of order for attacking me. You may be older, but you're just a Sheriff. You can be replaced."

Eric was silent, but he made no move to remove his hand from around her neck.

"Eric." Pam said from somewhere behind me. "We have to leave. Now."

"Whatever punishment I receive for tearing open that frigid throat of yours and draining you dry would be worth it."

Nan's gaze hardened and Pam spoke up again. "Eric!"

He tore his hand away from Nan's neck and turned his back to her, leaving her against the wall.

He picked me up by my arm and pushed me to the back door. I turned back to see Nan grinning and fixing her nearly shredded clothes. "I'll be seeing you soon, Eric. And you as well, Adrianne."

Pam rolled her eyes and retracted her fangs as she moved away from Aiko and towards the door. Aiko quickly glided over to where Nan was standing with her arms folded and glared at us as we left.

The back door led to the alleyway behind the hotel. I took in a deep breath of the fresh air as Pam stared at Eric. He avoided eye contact with both of us before taking off in the direction of his car. Pam and I followed silently and remained quiet when he stopped to get the key from the valet.

"Sir, I can get your car for you," The valet sad as he hesitantly handed over the keys. "It's my job."

Eric ignored him and took the key before reaching into his pockets to pull out some money. "Keep the change."

He handed the valet the money before walking quickly towards the parking lot, leaving Pam and I to catch up with him.

When we reached the car, we all got in and sat in silence as Eric started the car and sped out of the parking lot.

We drove quietly for a while before Pam broke the silence. "Where are we going?"

"I don't know yet." Eric said as he kept his eyes on the road.

Pam sighed, but kept her gaze on Eric. "That was a terrible idea. She was right, you know. The Magister is not going to be pleased when he hears about this."

"I acted on impulse." Eric mumbled in reply.

"Your impulses aren't a good enough excuse, Eric." Pam said as she shifted I her seat. "We're in a deep pile of shit now!"

I flinched at Pam's raised voice, but Eric stayed expressionless and distant as if he was busy with his own thoughts.

"There's another hotel in Biloxi," Pam said as she turned back to look at the road. "We should stay there for the day and get our thoughts together."

Once again, Eric said nothing, but he turned onto the nearest exit and sped up even more. Pam turned back to look at me for a while before turning around to look straight forward again.

The silence and tension in the car was almost unbearable. When my adrenaline faded, I began to get sleepy and wanted nothing more than to go to close my eyes for a while, but I was sure that I'd probably have a nightmare and embarrass myself. So instead of sleeping, I looked out the window and counted the trees and road signs until we reached our destination.

* * *

This hotel was a lot smaller than the one in Jackson, but it was no less breathtaking. Once again, Eric dropped the car off at the valets then instructed Pam and I to wait for him in the lobby while he went to make reservations.

I stood awkwardly next to Pam as she paced a little back and forth and causing her heels to _click clack_ on the smooth, white floor.

"Pam stop fidgeting," I said finally, causing her to stop and stare at me. "You're making me _nervous_."

Pam chuckled a little before folding her arms tight across her chest. "You of all people should be nervous, sweetie. I don't think you've comprehended the severity of this situation we're in right now."

She paused for a while before shaking her head slightly and letting her smile widen despite the seriousness of her voice. "Silly me. Of course you don't understand. You're just a human."

"Hey!" I said as I turned my full body towards her. "Just because I'm human doesn't mean that I don't know anything! We do have brains, you know. Or did you forget?"

Pam unfolded her arms and stared down at me with an unimpressed expression. "You can have a brain and still be completely and utterly stupid. I'm not saying you are, but there are just some things humans can't understand."

"But I do understand what's going on and I'm trying to stay calm," I replied. "But seeing you shaken makes me terrified."

She raised an eyebrow, but gave me no reply. At least she stopped pacing. We stood there in semi-comfortable silence until Eric appeared before us holding 3 room keys in his hand.

"I got you your own room this time." He said as he handed me my room key.

I took the key and looked up at him awkwardly before mumbling, "Thanks."

He stared at me for a while before nodding his head in the direction of the hotel elevator. "Go on. Pam and I have things to discuss."

I nodded slowly before I turned around and walked towards the elevator. I could practically feel Eric and Pam's eyes on my back as I pushed the 'up' button of the elevator and waited for it to come down. When it did, I stepped inside and pushed the button for the 4th floor.

* * *

_**A/N**_

_**Thanks for the reviews, guys!**_  
_**New chapter will be up really, really soon. **_


	7. Tied

**Chapter 7 - Tied  
**

_Warnings for this chapte_r: _ **blood**, adult themes  
_

_Disclaimer: True Blood belongs to HBO and Alan Ball and The Southern Vampire Mysteries belongs to Charlaine Harris. All I own is the plot and the OCs _

_Note: (spoiler) I should warn before hand that this chapter deals with blood ties (not blood bonds) and a human drinking vampire blood. I got my info from the TV show and True Blood is very vague with information when it comes to drinking vampire blood and blood ties and I never read the books, so if I get anything wrong, I'm sorry._

_

* * *

_

The room was medium sized and looked comfortable. The color scheme was simple cream and light brown unlike the Marilynn's white and modern décor. There was a large king sized bed, a medium table with two chairs, and two love seats placed over by a huge window. It wasn't as large and sleek as the last room, but, for some reason, it felt more comfortable.

When I was done surveying the room, I noticed a phone next to the bed and my mind immediately flew to Sam and Sookie.

I walked over and picked up the phone hesitantly before dialing Sookie's home number. It rang 5 times before her answering machine clicked on.

"Hey you've reached the Stackhouse resident. We're not able to take your call right now, so leave a message and we'll get back to you as soon as we can."

_Beep_

"Hey, Sookie. It's Adrianne. I know you're probably freaking out right now. I just wanted to let you know that I'm alright. I'll call you back later, okay?"

I hung up before picking up the phone again to call Sam. He answered on the first ring.

"Merlotte's."

"Hey Sam."

"Adrianne? Where the hell are you?" he said. "We all saw you on TV! Everyone is talking about it like the President died!"

"Oh, God!" I said as I slumped back on the bed. "No, no, no, NO!"

"Yes." Sam replied followed closely by a sigh. "People have been asking for you all night. I had to ward them off with threats and when that stopped working, Lafayette and Tara had to step in. Needless to say, most of them left, but the phone has been ringing off the hook."

"Where's Sookie?" I asked quietly.

"She left about 20 minutes ago. I had to close down early. You wanna tell me where you are?"

"In a hotel in Mississippi." I said as I continued to stare at the ceiling.

"I'm coming to get you right now, so an address would be nice."

"No, no. I don't think —" I paused for a bit and sat up. "I have to stay here for a while."

"Those vampires aren't holding you hostage, are they?"

"No!" I said a little loudly. "I just… can't leave right now. I promise I'll see you soon and explain everything. But I'm really tired, Sam. I just want to relax."

Sam was quiet for a while before he sighed again. His voice was tired and I felt a little guilty.

"Are you in some sort of trouble, Adrianne?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure." I said softly. "But I think I'm safe right now for a while."

There was silence on the phone again, but Sam broke it when he spoke up. "You call me first thing in the morning, alright?"

"Alright, Sam."

"And if you don't, I'm tracing this number and driving up there myself."

I smiled a little at that. "Alright, Sam. Goodnight."

"Goodnight. Take care." He said and I waited for his line to go dead before I placed the phone back on the receiver.

I lay on the bed for a while before getting up and heading to the bathroom. There were robes, towels and two toothbrushes laid out neatly on a marble counter next to the sink. Since I had no clothes with me again, a robe is all I'll be wearing tonight.

I turned on the shower before turning to the wide floor length mirror and examining myself. I looked tired and exhausted. Like I'd been running on empty for days. My clothes were stained with white debris and dust from when Eric slammed Nan against the wall. I absentmindedly brushed the dirt off while wondering what the hell I was going to wear tomorrow.

When the steam from the running water started to fog up the mirror, I finally turned away from my reflection and started to strip off my clothes before throwing them somewhere on the floor. I slid open the glass shower door and stepped under the hot water, immediately feeling a rush of relief as the water rhythmically beat against my skin.

* * *

The shower was much needed. I would have stayed in it forever if my skin wasn't starting to feel numb from the ridiculously hot water. I stumbled out of the shower feeling refreshed and a lot better than before. I reached for a towel and dried my still slightly tingling skin before I started to test out the different lotions and body creams they had laid out on a shelf next to the sink.

When I was finished, I put on one of the complimentary robes and made my way back into the room.

I sat on the bed and contemplated calling for some food when a voice from behind me startled me to near death.

"Adrianne."

I jumped and slid off the bed with a loud 'THUD'. I quickly got up and tried to shake the dizziness out of my head as I looked around.

"Eric?" I asked loudly as I rubbed the back of my head and looked around the lowly lit room. My eyes snapped to a figure moving over by the door and I sighed in relief when Eric's face came into view. He had a smile on his face and I guessed the look of me toppling over like an idiot was humorous to him.

I scowled and turned away from him as I dragged myself up from the floor and fixed my robe.

"You know," I said as I tightened my robe belt. "Inviting yourself into someone's room and hiding in dark corners is kind of —"

I stopped short when I turned around to glare at him because he was much, much closer to me now. "… Creepy."

Eric brushed past me and sat in one of the chairs by the desk. He looked at me for a while before patting the seat next to him and saying, "Have a seat, we need to talk."

I hesitantly moved over to where he was sitting before I sat down in chair next to him. I folded my arms over my chest and waited for him to start.

"I am going to see the Queen —"

"You guys have a Queen?" I asked and Eric shot me an inpatient look.

"Yes, now don't interrupt."

I rolled my eyes and shifted until he started up again. "I must see the Queen first thing tomorrow evening to discuss what just happened. You on the other hand, are in just as much trouble as I am."

"What?" I asked as I continued to stare at him.

"Well you did manage to anger both sides of the argument tonight; Nan and the Fellowship." Eric said simply as if he was speaking about the weather.

"Shouldn't I be hiding or something?" I asked loudly, standing up and making Eric raise an eyebrow at me.

"There is no need. No one will come for you in a hotel full of witnesses. Let alone a vampire hotel. Nan has a reputation to uphold and the Fellowship isn't dumb enough to raid an entire hotel, unfortunately."

I relaxed a little, but I still wasn't completely at ease. "Am I coming with you tomorrow? To see your Queen?"

"No." Eric said as he leaned back in the chair and looked over to the window. "It will slow me down. I will back before sunrise the next day. Knowing the Queen, she'd probably force me to stay and … talk about things and play silly little games."

I wondered briefly if by 'playing games', he meant 'having sex', but I quickly blocked the idea out of my head and tried to focus on more important issues. "Am I staying with Pam, then?"

"No." He said again. "Pam is going to be taking care of some business for me in Dallas. She cannot take you with her either."

I sighed in frustration. "So where am I staying, hmm? Here?"

"I have asked a favor of Bill Compton. He will be here at sundown tomorrow to take you back to Bon Temps."

"Oh that's just wonderful, Eric." I said sarcastically. "And how is he supposed to look after me during the day?"

"You will be with Sookie and that shifter you two seem to enjoy spending time around. Maybe Bill can even hide you away in that ruddy old house of his."

Eric smiled at his own joke and I narrowed my eyes at him. "His name is Sam. And Bill's house isn't 'ruddy', it's vintage and classic."

Eric's smile widened and it caused a slight flutter in my stomach. "So that's what you kids are calling it now?"

The snarky bastard.

"Is there anything else you wanted to talk about, Eric?" I asked as eyed him wearily.

Eric stood up and placed his hands in his pockets. "There is one more thing. If Bill fails — which may be unlikely, but is still very possible —and you should get yourself into some sort of trouble, I will need to find you."

"Can't you already do that since I drank your blood?" I asked as I tilted my head a little.

"Not entirely." He said as he continued to look down at me. "The connection is not strong enough. You didn't drink much of my blood. It's hard to make someone drink if their throat isn't cooperating."

"Is that why I took a couple days to heal?"

"Yes." Eric replied as he took off his jacket and laid it on the bed.

I swallowed and looked around, "I know what you're implying, but I don't think I can drink anymore of your blood."

Eric smiled lazily, "And why is that? Many humans would do ridiculous things to get a taste of my blood."

"Well I'm not them. A few sips is enough for me. And the side effects I'm having right now are enough as well. I don't need them to be intensified."

"Oh?" Eric said as he raised an eyebrow and stepped closer. "And what side effects are those?"

I immediately took a step back and pushed away whatever attraction was starting to flare up in my stomach. "Don't play coy, Eric. You know."

Eric stood in the same place, smirking for a while before he spoke again. "Whatever attraction you feel towards me now may or may not increase. But I will need to find you incase anything happens. So, if I was you, I'd try to get over my little teenager … crush."

"Don't flatter yourself, Eric. It's not a teenager crush." I snapped, causing him to shoot me a disbelieving look.

I was telling the truth, though. It was something much stronger than that.

We stared at each other for a while and Eric shifted on his feet and looked at me expectantly.

"Fine." I grumbled as I walked over to stand by the bed. "God, this is so wrong and unnatural."

Eric laughed lowly and sat on the bed. "Don't be dramatic. I think you might actually enjoy it."

"I hope I don't go into some weird V trip."

A wide grin spread across his face and he moved his jacket out of the way before looking at me again. "I'll be here to make sure you don't do anything you'll regret in the morning. Now, sit and get comfortable."

"Let's just get this over with." I said under my breath as I sat slowly and pulled my knees up under me. My heart was hammering in my chest and Eric's intense gaze wasn't helping at all. After a few long seconds passed, Eric shifted on the bed and faced me completely. Suddenly, there was a very audible 'snick' and his fangs were out and looking eerily fluorescent in the dim light.

I stared at them with wide, curious eyes. I've never seen his fangs (or anybody's fangs, for that matter) up close before.

My nervousness caused the corners of his mouth to twitch and I would have been a bit upset if I wasn't too busy reminding myself to breathe.

"Are you ready?" he said as he leaned closer.

I stared at his fangs and nodded before I swallowed thickly in my throat.

He lifted his right wrist to his face before dropping his head down and biting into it. I cringed as I heard the sound of his skin breaking. He pulled away and immediately held two fingers to the wound before bringing it to my face.

"Drink."

I stared at the blood dripping down his wrists and onto the bed sheets. Blood never bothered me or made me squeamish, but this time was an exception. I was nervous as hell.

"Adrianne." Eric said lowly and my eyes snapped up and fell on his blood stained lips. "Drink before the wound closes."

He pushed his wrist further to my face and I closed my eyes as I leaned forward. I felt him take his fingers away and the warm liquid immediately coated my lips and made its way into my mouth.

The taste wasn't bad. It definitely wasn't good, but it still wasn't as bad as I expected. It didn't taste like my own blood which had a kind of coppery tinge to it.

I took my first hesitant swallow and my heart sped up immediately. I could feel Eric shudder a little as I sipped again and again. After a while, I raised my hands to grip his arm as I pressed his wrist closer to my face and sucked harder at the wound.

My eyes were still squeezed shut when I pulled back to breathe. I fell back against the pillows and panted for a while. My whole body felt light and tingly. The bed shifted and I finally opened my eyes to stare at the ceiling. Nothing looked different, just a bit… brighter and hazier. Eric's face appeared in my vision. Blood was smeared around his slightly opened mouth and his fangs were still out.

"You're in a state." He said with a crooked grin as his eyes ran down the front of my body.

I lifted my head to stare down at myself and saw that he was right. The front of my previously white robe had streaks of red blood staining the front of it.

I didn't even want to imagine what my face looked like.

Eric was still grinning down at me when I raised my eyes to meet his. He took his hand and brushed some of the stray hair covering my flushed face. I caught a glimpse of his wrists and saw that the wound was healing up right before my eyes.

"Red suits you well." He said and I giggled before I could stop myself. He traced his thumb along my lower lip, wiping and smearing the remainder of the blood there, and I shivered.

His gaze dropped to my lips and then he was moving in, bending over me and tangling his hands in my hair. I craned my neck and met his kiss half way only to be pushed almost gently back against the pillows.

Unlike the first time we kissed, this one was a bit rougher and it had the underlying taste and smell of blood. It made me feel a bit primal.

I nicked my lower lip on one of his fangs, but I barely noticed. Eric noticed immediately, though, and moaned into my mouth as his fingers tensed in my hair. He started to lick at my lower lip and I groaned and closed my eyes. I raised my hands to his hair as he moved his lips back to mines and began kissing me again.

Now, I could taste my blood along with his and it made my skin feel heated. I dragged my hands down the back of his neck and his cold skin felt foreign against my hands.

He pulled away from my lips again and kissed along my jaw, hands drifting down to my robe belt and pulling it loose. He threw the string somewhere in the room, his lips never leaving my skin as he kissed his way down to my neck. His fangs scraped my neck and I was momentarily snapped out of my haze of lust.

"Wait, wait." I panted as he continued to drag his lips along my neck. "Eric, stop for a minute."

He pulled his head away from my neck and stared down at me through heavy lidded eyes.

"Is… is your blood making me feel this way?" I asked a little out of breath.

Eric grinned, flashing his stained fangs and I felt another shiver run down my spine.

He leaned closer to my ear and I felt his breath against my skin as he spoke. "Your reaction wouldn't be as strong as it is now if there wasn't some attraction there already."

I closed my eyes and bit my bottom lip as he rose up to stare at me again. "It intensifies the attraction, but it's not some sort of ridiculous love spell, Adrianne. It does not force you to blush and shiver. Neither does it force you to act upon whatever fantasies you may have."

I opened my eyes and caught his gaze again. He was staring at me intently, his red, shiny lips still slightly parted.

I relaxed against the pillows and tilted my neck ever so slightly to the side. "Go ahead."

He took his time leaning forward, holding my gaze for as long as he cold before disappearing out of my peripheral vision. I could feel his breath ghosting against my neck and squeezed my eyes shut.

"Are you sure?" He asked as he hovered there, moving one of his hands to the back of my neck and the other to my waist.

I opened my eyes again and stared straight ahead as I repeated the question to myself for a while before nodding once. "Yes. Wait. Not on the neck."

He lifted his hands to my robe and pulled one of the flaps gently aside. He leaned in and ran his lips against my chest. I could feel my skin beginning to blush and I had the urge to cover myself up again. He must have read my mind because he used one of his hands to pin both of mines above my head.

"Don't struggle." He mumbled sternly in between kisses. "It will hurt more and I don't want to rip your skin more than necessary."

I nodded slowly as he paused against the spot I suspected he intended to bite.

He then dragged his tongue against the area once while glancing up at me before sinking his teeth in.

God, it hurt it hell. I jerked and he released my arms so he could hold my hips and pin me to the bed. I could feel him sucking lightly at first then increasingly harder. I moaned as he settled himself between my legs completely. Then, the pain drifted and left a dull throbbing which slowly started to feel amazing.

I groaned and gripped his shoulders, urging him on and panting incoherent things into his hair. The throbbing had turned to pulsing now and I started to feel as if I was building up to a crash.

He pulled back suddenly, snarling and panting even though he didn't need to breathe. I was starting to feel drowsy, but I tried hard to fight my heavy eyelids from closing down. Instead, I watched as he lowered his head again and licked at the twin holes he made above my breast until they stopped bleeding completely. He kissed his way up to my lips, leaving a trail of my blood along the way before rising up and snatching off his black V-neck.

When he was done, he reached down for one of my hands and brought it up to his mouth. My fingers immediately traced his lips and slowly dipped in to touch his fangs. He stared down at me, his hands snaking under my robe to grip my bare hips.

I reached up to cup the beck of his head, pulling him down flush against me and kissing him so hard that I pricked my lip on his fangs again. I tasted my blood, his blood, the fancy lotion I applied earlier, and… Eric. And the fact that the mixture actually tasted so good disturbed me a little, but I was too far gone to care.

I broke off from the kiss whispered, "Eric…"

He looked down at me, his hand moving to the pulse on my neck and brushing it slightly. "Tell me what you want."

I laid there for a while, panting and staring up at him. Slowly, I brought my hand to the front of my robe and rose up so I could take it completely off. Eric's eyes flew down to my chest and his hand caught mines before I could fully remove the robe.

"Have you done this before?"

The question took me by surprise and I stuttered for a while before mumbling. "No."

"A virgin," He said with a small smirk as he removed my hand from my robe and closed it back up. "Isn't that sweet?"

I stared down at his hands then looked up at him again. "W-What?"

Eric sat back on the bed before moving away from me completely, leaving me panting and confused.

"Eric. Wait, what are you doing?"

"Making sure you don't do something you'll regret in the morning," He said as he reached for his black V neck and putting it on. "Just as I promised."

"You can't be serious." I said as I sat up to stare at him. "You can't start… this… and just walk away!"

Eric closed the blinds and turned to look at me. He didn't say anything for a while and I sighed in frustration before throwing myself back against the pillows and covering my hands with my face. The lust was almost completely gone now and as I came off my high, it was replaced by embarrassment. I felt stupid and wanton. The realization on what I just did with someone I barely knew crashed down on me like a wave.

I felt a cold hand brush my face, but I refused to look up at him.

"I catch myself forgetting how young you are."

The hand on my face was gone and I heard footsteps and a door opening. When I opened my eyes, all I saw was the door closing shut.

The room was oddly quiet now. The only sound noticeable was my heavy, labored breathing. Sadness, disappointment and embarrassment settled in my stomach. I could still taste his … our blood in the back of my throat. Suddenly, I couldn't stand to be here right now.

I let out a chocked sob and reached for the phone and dialed Sam's number again.

He answered after the third ring, sounding tired and foggy. "Hello?"

"Sam? It's Adrianne." I said quietly while bringing my knees close to my chest.

"Hey. Are you ok?" he asked, sounding more awake now.

"No. Can you come get me?"

"Tell me where you are and I'll leave right now." I heard rustling in the background and I suspected that he was getting dressed.

"Biloxi, Mississippi." I said quietly. "At the Ila Hotel. I'm in room 302."

"Alright. I'm walking out the door now."

"Wait." I said loudly as I looked down at my messy robe. "Can you bring me some of my clothes? I kinda have nothing to wear."

"What? Have you been walking around naked this whole time?" Said yelled into the phone and I cringed.

"No, no. Just…. Just bring the clothes and I'll explain everything when you get here. It'll be better if you get here after the sun rises too."

Sam was silent for a while before he grumbled and unsure 'Alright' into the phone.

"Thank you, Sam." I said quietly.

I stayed on the phone with him long enough to hear his car pull off before we hung up.

I placed the phone back on the receiver and felt a bit lightheaded. My hand wandered to the bite mark on my chest and I wondered how much blood Eric took from me. Then I wondered how much blood I took from him.

The idea suddenly made me queasy and I stood up quickly, stumbling a little as I walked to the bathroom.

I leaned against the skink as I grabbed one of the toothbrushes and spread some toothpaste on it.

I brushed my teeth harder than I needed to, but I just wanted to get to taste out of my mouth. When I was finished, I was still a bit dizzy so I sat on the edge of the bathtub, wrapped my arms around myself, and waited for Sam.

* * *

**A/N:**  
So that's it.  
I probably won't be able to post the next chapter until next week. Sorry D:


	8. Fox

**Chapter 8 - Fox  
**

_Warnings for this chapte_r: _bad language, violence, a lack of Eric  
_

* * *

Sam arrived at 6am on the dot. He had some trouble getting up to my room, but when he was finally outside my door, he banged on it loud enough to make the room shake.

I stumbled out of the bathroom, smoothing my hair and fixing my robe so I didn't look like a _**complete**_ disaster. That didn't work, however, because when I opened the door, he stared at me wide eyed and slack jawed.

"What the… fuck?" Sam said as he stepped closer and started at the blood on my clothes. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Come in and sit down and I'll tell you all about it, okay?" I said quietly as I stepped aside so he could let himself in.

Once inside, Sam's eyes immediately halted on the bed which still had spatters of blood on it. He paused awkwardly in the middle of the room. His gazed snapped up to meet mines before dropping the bags he was carrying on the floor and folding his arms.

"Why does this room look like a crime scene?" Sam asked slowly. "Did that vampire… force you to do somethin' you didn't want to?"

"What? No, no. Sam, I…" I paused for a while and he looked down at me expectantly.

I couldn't tell him that I let a vampire drink from me. I couldn't completely lie about everything either because the blood was _right there_ and visible, standing out stark red against the plain sheets.

I took a deep breath and exhaled. "I drank some of Eric's blood."

There it was, out in the open and hanging in the air. It was only a whisper, but it seemed like it bounced off the walls and echoed throughout the room. Sam made no reaction at first. He just stared at me with a blank expression on his face as if he was shocked silent. Slowly, however, his face began to turn red and he crossed the room to where I was standing.

"Tell me you're joking!" He said as she gripped my upper arm in his large hands. "Tell me you didn't do something that stupid."

I struggled a little as I looked up at him. "It seemed like a good idea at the time!"

"At the time? Did he hypnotize you?"

"No! Sam let me go! You're hurting me!" I said.

He quickly released his hold on arm and took a step back as he ran his hands through his hair. "I'm sorry. Why would you do something so stupid? You know I hear a lot of stupid about college kids gettin' high off of vampire blood and hurting each other… and themselves!"

"It affects everyone differently, I think." I said quietly. "I didn't feel- I just felt a bit euphoric. And blissful."

Sam continued to look at me with a slightly disgusted look in his eyes.

"Sometimes when a human drinks blood from a vampire, they can feel them. Like when they're I trouble or have a certain kind of emotion. I got in a bit of trouble with the lady you saw me on tv with, Nan Flanagan, and Eric said that drinking is blood would make us… connected. If anything happens, he can find me."

Sam laughed suddenly. It was sharp, humorless and dry and it made me flinch.

"Didn't you drink his blood already? Why did he make you drink more?"

"He said that—"

"So now you're even more connected with a vampire?" Sam said as he folded his arms and looked down at me. "Adrianne, did you ever stop to ask yourself why your little dead friend is doing all of this for you? You don't find this situation odd at all?"

"No." I mumbled as I sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Of course you didn't! If you did and you had a common sense, you'd see that this is very strange. Vampires are not the friendly next door neighbors who you sit and sip tea with. They're conniving, evil things and I don't trust them at all. And even Bill and Sookie didn't speak too kindly on Eric, so I _definitely_ don't trust him."

"But he saved my life!" I said defiantly as I folded my hands in my lap. "Multiple times!"

"All I'm asking is why." Sam said raising his voice to meet mines. "I want to know what his purpose is and until I find that out, I'm taking you back to Bon Temps and I'm not letting you near him again. Your clothes are in the bags. Go get dressed!"

"Sam, you're not my father." I grumbled and rooted myself further onto the bed to prove a point.

"That's right, but I'm all you've got right now."

The words hit me harder than I expected because I knew that he was right. Right now, all I had was Sam and some of the folks working at Merlotte's. Sighing, I dragged myself off the bed and picked up the bag off the floor.

After turning to give Sam another glance, I made my way into the bathroom to clean up and change my clothes.

* * *

It felt so good to be in my own clothes again. I put on some shorts and a white tank top. It was simple, but it felt good to be able to dress how I wanted to. And it smelled as if Sam had washed them. Right now, his cheap detergent smelled a whole lot better than fancy perfumes and expensive soap.

I gathered my black hair into a pony tail before leaning down to pick up the bloody robe up off the floor and shove it into a plastic bag.

When I opened the bathroom door, Sam was standing by the window, looking down at the street below.

"I'm ready." I said after a while of hesitation. He jumped as if I startled him out of his thoughts be he walked over to where I was standing. He took my bags and stood still for a second, surveying me.

"You look different." He said quietly.

"I do?"

"Yeah."

I shrugged and he looked away. "Make sure you have everything, because once we hit the road, I'm not turning back."

"I don't really have anything here…"

Sam nodded once and gestured for me to leave first. I wasted no time marching right out of the room.

An uneasy feeling came over me when we were in Sam's truck, ready to put some distance between Eric and I. For some reason, I felt like I was being watched. I looked around the parking lot as Sam started up the truck, but nothing struck me as odd. Besides some people entering and leaving the lot, there weren't much people around.

I ignored the coil in my stomach and fastened my seatbelt as Sam pulled out onto the road. He switched on the radio and cursed at some silly pop song that came on before changing it to country. I scrunched my nose in disgust at his choice of music before I closed my eyes and allowed myself to drift off to sleep.

* * *

The ride to Bon Temps was long and quiet. I drifted in and out of sleep for most of the trip. Eric's face and voice plagued my dreams and I would always jump awake and get weird looks from Sam, so I just gave up on trying to sleep altogether. Sam stopped once to get gas and buy me some food. He forced me to eat all of it after letting me know that when I got home, he was going to make me eat proper food because I looked like I haven't had some in days.

That Sam.

We'd arrived to Bon Temps around 11:50-something. Sam stopped on a dirt road and picked up his phone. He pushed a few numbers before he held it up to his ear while it rang.

After a few seconds, he grounded out, "Hey Sookie," into the receiver.

I perked up at hearing Sookie's name and her faint voice on the other end of the line.

"I need you to meet me in the parking lot in about 20 minutes. It's important. And find someone to take your shift for the day, if you can."

I could hear her complaining through the phone, but I couldn't make out what she was saying.

"Plans?" Sam asked exasperatedly. "What plans? You don't do much during the day. You're usually out at night with Bill."

Louder chatter.

Sam turned to look at me for a while as he listened to Sookie fuss on the other end.

"Well, I've got her right here, so that saves you and Bill a trip to Mississippi."

The line was silent for a bit before Sookie said something and Sam jerked back from the phone before hanging it up.

I looked down at the phone in his hands, then back up at him. "What's going on?"

"She isn't too happy." Sam said as he pocketed his phone and turned to frown at me. "Did you know Bill and Sookie were supposed to pick you up tonight?"

"Yes." I mumbled. "Eric informed me last night."

"I thought…" Sam stopped himself before he started up his truck again.

"You thought what?" I said as I folded my arms. "That I was being held hostage?"

"Well… yeah! You called me late at night sounding scared and shaken. Naturally, the worst scenarios ran through my mind!"

I looked at him apologetically and leaned back into my chair. "I wasn't scared. Just…"

I had no words to describe how I felt.

Sam looked at me awkwardly for a moment before he pulled us back onto the road and left the conversation hanging.

* * *

Somewhere between that dirt road and Merlotte's, it had started to drizzle. Now, it was pouring. Sheets of water fell down from the sky and pounded against Sam's windshield.

"This is a good thing." Sam said as he parked the car a few feet away from the bar's parking lot. "People won't have a reason to be outside, so it's a slim chance that anyone would see you."

He opened the door and the loud pattering of the rain nearly drowned out his voice as he said, "I'll be right back."

He stepped out of the car and shut the door before running towards the bar, getting completely soaked in the process.

After I lost sight of him through the heavy rain, I unbuckled my seatbelt and sighed.

Before long, the sick coil in my stomach returned. I felt eyes on me and I became hyperaware of my surroundings. I looked around the clearing to see if I could spot anyone, but it was completely empty out here.

My eyes halted on some shifting bushes directly in front of the truck. I used my hand to wipe the condensation off of the windshield so I could get a better look. The bush continued to shake and my anxiousness continued to build and build until, suddenly, a black fox stepped out of it.

I stared as it looked around for a while, seemingly taking in the area. Slowly, it turned its head to stare right at me. I jumped a little at the intensity of its gaze and by now, alarms were going off in my brain. It was raining hard as hell outside, but the fox seemed to not care or even notice! It just kept on staring.

I swallowed and closed my eyes in an attempt to wish it away (ha!), but when I opened them, it was still there, soaking wet and glowering at me.

Suddenly, I heard a door slam and I jumped and screamed, gripping my seat in a tight hold.

"Hey, relax!" Sam's said, loudly, gripping my shoulder in an attempt to try to stop me from shaking. "It's just us!"

"Adrianne?" Sookie said from the backseat. "Are you alright?"

I opened my eyes to see that the fox was gone. I turned to Sam and stammered for a while before I could get a complete sentence out. "A fox. Did you see a black fox when you were walking up?"

"No…" Sam said as he looked at me as if I'd grown an extra head.

I turned back to stare at Sookie. "You?"

"No, I didn't see anything either. Why would a fox be out here?"

"I just thought… nevermind." Maybe lack of sleep was making me see things.

Sookie and Sam continued to give me odd looks before Sookie broke the silence. "Why didn't you wait for Bill and I to pick you up tonight? There was no need to call Sam."

"I couldn't stay there anymore. I just wanted to be around people I was comfortable with again. People who had actual feelings and were actually alive." I bit out the last sentence harshly and it caused Sookie to thin her lips, but she didn't respond.

Sam looked at both of us before sighing and scratching the stubble on his chin. "I really need to go look after the bar. I'm sure it's not buzzing with all this rain we're having, but a shipment is coming in at 1:30 and I can't let Terry handle all of that by himself."

"I'll take Adrianne back to my place and we'll wait for Bill to wake up so we can figure out what to do."

Their conversation carried on like that for a while as if I wasn't sitting right there. I didn't really care or mind. I just kept scanning the area to see if I could spot that black fox again.

Before I knew it, Sam was shifting and getting out of the car.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Back to the bar." He said as he and Sookie exchanged car keys. "I'll come see you at 6."

He leaned in to kiss my forehead before pulling back to get out of the car and shut the door. Sookie climbed into the front seat.

"Are you alright?" She asked softly as she reached over to rub my arm.

"Yeah," I said as sure as I could muster. "I'll be fine. I just need some sleep."

She nodded and started the car. That's what I liked about Sookie. Sometimes she just _knew_ when to leave someone alone to their thoughts for a while.

Her house wasn't far from Merlotte's and it only took us a while to get there. We pulled up to her driveway and she parked the car a few feet away from the porch.

"We should just make a run for it." She said as she looked at the rain outside.

I smiled and unbuckled my seatbelt as I opened the door and felt a blast of rain water on my face.

I hopped out of the car slamming the door behind me and rushing towards her front door. The running seemed to make things worse because I stepped in mud puddles and splashed them all over my legs.

Behind me, I heard a loud yelp followed closely by a _squelch_. I turned around to see Sookie laying down in the mud.

I couldn't help it. I laughed. I laughed and laughed until my throat began to feel scratchy and raw. I was completely soaked by the rain now, but I didn't care.

"Stop laughing and come help me up!" She yelled over a rumble of thunder. She was grinning too, pushing her muddy hair out of her face as she flopped around while trying to find leverage.

I raced over to her and tugged on her slippery arm until she was steady on her feet. We stumbled quickly over to the porch and fell against the door, still shaking with laughter like we were kids.

As the laughter died down, she began to fish around in her pocket to find her keys. When she found them, she unlocked the door and held it open for me to come in.

I hadn't been to Sookie's house in a while. There was no real need since I saw her almost constantly at Merlotte's or when my parents dragged me to church with them. That is, when they actually went to a regular church and not a cult.

Sookie took off her wet shoes and socks and I followed her lead, removing my sandals and placing them next to the door.

She disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a towel and a bright smile on her face.

"What are you grinning about?" I asked as I took the towel and wiped my face.

"You look really happy." She said as she continued to smile at me. "I don't think I've heard a genuine laugh from you in months."

"Well," I said as I wiped mud and rain water off of my face and arms. "It's been a rough couple of months. First my parents signed their life over to the Fellowship and now… this."

"What happened? I mean, with Nan Flanagan."

"Well, she wanted me to do more things for her. Like interviews, web campaigns; the whole pity committee. I could barely handle doing the press conference, so the other things seemed impossible."

Sookie nodded sympathetically, but said nothing so I could continue.

"Eric stepped in and they had a bit of an altercation. I think he's in trouble now, so he's going to see the Queen. Bill was supposed to pick me up this evening, but I just wanted to come back home. I couldn't… be there anymore."

Sookie was quiet for a while as she stared at me. Finally, she spoke up. "Did something happen between you and Eric?"

"No!" I said almost too quickly. "Were you reading my thoughts?"

"I don't need to. You just gave yourself away!"

I looked down at my bare feet just to have a reason to look away. Sookie waited a few seconds before trying to get an answer again.

"Adrianne."

I sighed. "He suggested that I drink his blood."

"And you did it?" she asked patiently, but I could hear an underlayer of annoyance in her voice.

"Yes." I said as I looked her in the eyes.

Sookie sighed, heavy and drawn out, but she didn't say anything.

"It was only supposed to be a little so he can find me just in case anything happened, but it escalated."

"What do you mean 'it escalated'?" She said as she stepped closer to me.

"I let him bite me."

Sookie blinked at me, but kept silent.

"After I drank from him, I just felt so alive. Everything felt different for a while."

"Are you sure he didn't give you his blood just to take advantage of you?" Sookie asked bluntly.

"No!" I said, feeling slightly insulted.

"How do you know that?"

"Because I… he kind of turned me down." I said quietly, feeling embarrassed all over again. "I lost my mind for a second and I kind of offered myself. He asked me if I was a virgin, I said yes and he left."

Sookie stared at me. "He left?"

"He left." I confirmed.

Talking about _this_ with Sookie was weird. She was always so conservative and old timish.

"I felt kinda embarrassed. Like the trance I was in disappeared and I was laying there wondering, 'Adrianne, what the fuck did you just do?'."

"It was probably the blood. It increases your… sex drive." She said quietly. "Do you feel any different?"

"Sam told me I looked different earlier." I said absentmindedly.

"Nothing different with your senses?" She asked as she tilted her head to the side.

"No, not really."

Sookie made a soft 'hmm' noise as if she was thinking about what I just told her before she sighed and drastically changed the subject. Something she always did when she didn't feel comfortable with the conversation.

"Well! Why don't we go clean up so we can eat?"

"I think I'm just gonna go take a bath and hop in bed." I said as I made my way over to the stairs. "I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Oh," Sookie said, sounding a little disappointed. "I'll go get your bag in the truck. I'll leave everything on the spare bed for you."

I nodded and turned to walk up the stairs, feeling Sookie's gaze on me all the way up.

* * *

I spent an obscenely long time in the bathtub, absentmindedly trailing my fingers around Eric's bite mark on my chest.

I wondered what he will do when he finds out that I left. Will he be angry?

Of course he would.

Sookie knocked on the door and startled me out of my thoughts. She was complaining about feeling dirty and needing to take a shower, so I hopped out and dried myself quickly before opening the door and letting her in.

I smiled apologetically at the impatient look on her face before I turned around and made my way into her guest room.

Like the rest of the house, it was clean and comfortable. I had no problem feeling right at home and drifting easily off to sleep after I'd changed my clothes and climbed into bed.

* * *

I was awakened by a loud crash and a scream. I shot up and swung my feet over the side of the bed.

I could hear yelling and some struggling downstairs as if some people were fighting. I quickly got off the bed and ran towards the steps. About half way down, I could see Sookie flailing about and trying to get away as two men struggled to get her out the door.

Sookie saw me standing on the steps and she yelled, "Adrianne, run!"

That caused the two men to turn towards me. I was hesitant to leave her, but when one of the guys started charging towards me, I turned and bolted back up the stairs, skipping two at time.

Once I reached the hallway, I bolted off towards the attic door. I yanked it open, threw myself inside and pulled the door shut behind me. I held my breath for as long as I could, listening as the man reached the top of the stairs and started pacing around in the hallway.

Sookie's house was very old and made of wood, so almost everything made a creak. I stood as still as I could, my heels pressing painfully against the stairs leading up to the attic.

There was a tiny window up there that I knew I could squeeze through, but I was too afraid of climbing up the stairs and making any noise, so I just stayed as still as a statue.  
I could hear the man sneering and cursing as he rummaged from room to room. It sounded like he was tearing the place apart.

I took a hesitant step backward onto the first step then waited. He didn't pause or give any indication that he heard the step creak so I took another, and another.

By the fifth step, I was beginning to have hope that I would make it up to the attic, but suddenly, another voice spoke up. "Here kitty, kitty, kitty. We know you're around her somewhere."

I could see his shadow moving about in the hallway from under the door. I paused and slapped my hand over my mouth to quiet my breathing.

"Where's the blond one?" One of them asked.

"Finally got her in the back of the van." The second guy answered.

"I wonder if she's a real blonde." The first one mused. "I think she fake. What do you think?"

"I think you better shut up!" His partner yelled. "Go make yourself useful and check that other room!"

I would have rolled my eyes if I wasn't scared to death.

I could slowly feel myself losing balance from the odd position I was in. I prayed that one of them would start throwing stuff around again so I could move.

My foot slipped a little and I would have tumbled down the steps if I didn't catch myself, but it made a loud thud and judging by the sudden silence from the other side of the door, I guessed that they noticed.

_Oh, shit._

"Did anyone check this room?" I heard one of them say as I saw the door knob begin to turn.

I turned around and started running up the steps as the door opened. I heard a chorus of laughter as one of the guys ran after me and grabbed one of my feet.

He began to pull as I held onto the banister for dear life.

I kicked and fought, but he was big and it seemed like my efforts were useless.

"Stop playing with her and bring her down, Al!" The other guy yelled from behind us.

"She's strong as hell. The bitch is probably on V!" He sneered as he reached up to grip my hands in an attempt to rip my hold away from the banister.

"No!" I screamed and kicked harder. It didn't faze at him all. He laughed and pulled me closer to him. I almost gagged at the way he smelled. It was like he hadn't taken a bath in _days_.

I felt as if he was purposely rubbing himself against me as he carried me down the steps and that made me struggle even more. But he was too strong and my attempts to get away just excited him.

When he brought me down, the other man, a skinnier, taller version of his partner, slapped his back and laughed.

"Let me get a look at this one." He said and 'Al' turned so I was facing him directly.

I struggled when he came too close to my face.

"These dead fuckers always get the good ones." He said as he shook his head.

"What do you want from me?" I grounded out between clenched teeth, trying to control my temper before I got myself in even more trouble.

"Nothing now that I know you've been screwing a dead man." He laughed loudly right in my face and I thanked God, Mary and Moses that he didn't smell as bad as Al did. "It's not us who wants you, darling. It's the lady who is paying us. Take her out to the van."

"No! Get your hands off of me!" I yelled as I fought to get loose, but everything I tried was worthless. I was carried down the steps kicking and screaming. The taller guy closed the door behind us as we walked out the door and ran forward to open the back of the van. There was one other girl in the back of the van sitting next to Sookie.

She screamed as soon as the door was opened and cried out when I was thrown on top of her.

I immediately scooted over to Sookie and she pressed her arms against mines. She had bruises on her face and arms, showing that she put up a hell of a fight and got roughed up for it.

"You're making a huge mistake." Sookie said as she moved to get up. Al pulled a gun out of his back pocket and pointed it right at her.

"Sit down and shut up." He said calmly.

When she held her stance, I reached out and pulled her back.

"Well, aren't you a good friend?" Al said as he tucked his gun away and smiled at me. "Do you fangbangers stick together or something?"

"Fuck you!" I snapped before I could stop myself.

Al laughed before he shut the back doors and locked it.

I heard the van's front doors open and close and felt the car rumble to life before we started moving. The back of the van had no windows, so we couldn't see where we were going.

Sookie and I were silent as the other girl cried and banged on the wall. We both knew it was useless.

"Bill's gonna come for us." She said to me as she took my hand in hers.

"Eric may, too." I whispered back.

She didn't answer, but she squeezed my hand tighter.

* * *

_**A/N**_  
_**Sorry for the wait!**_  
_**Half of the next chapter will be told from Eric's point of view. EXCITING!**_

_**Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter. It was much appreciated!**_


	9. Turning Point

**Chapter 9 - Turning Point  
**

_Warnings for this chapte_r: _bad language, violence, blood_

_

* * *

_

After a long, distressing drive, we came to a halt. The other girl in the back with Sookie and I had been reduced to sobbing and hiccupping by then. I could barely see Sookie's annoyed glances in the darkness. I was pretty pissed myself, but I wasn't going to take it out on the girl. She looked like she was about to faint at any second.

The front doors opened and closed, but there were no sounds after that. Everything was quiet for a few minutes. The only sound was Miss Waterworks over there and the sound of my own harsh breathing.

"What's your name?" I asked her after some time.

She looked up at me and wiped a few tears off her face. Besides her smeared makeup, she looked wholesome. She was dressed as if she was out at a country club when they took her. She was wearing a flower patterned sun dress and a pair of yellow sandals. Her mess of blonde hair looked as if it was in a pristine bun earlier that day and one of her gold earring studs were missing. The straps on one of her sandals were broken and her feet were covered in mud from the ankles down.

"Tiffany," She mumbled as she sobbed and wiped her messy face.

"I'm Adrianne." I said before I gestured to Sookie. "And this is Sookie."

Sookie didn't say anything. She just stared at the van's doors, willing it to open.

"Please get me outta here!" She said and she shifted on her knees. "My daddy's really rich and if you get me home, I'll make him give you whatever you want!"

"I don't know if you've notice," I said patiently, "But we're in the same place you are. The best thing for us to do is to keep calm."

Just then, the back door started to open. Tiffany threw her hands over her face and began to sob uncontrollably again. "I don't wanna die!"

I was going to respond, but the door was yanked open and the sunlight poured into the back of the van and stung my eyes. I squinted and pressed against Sookie again as a few guys, maybe 6 or 7, crowded around the back door. They all looked tough, so I doubt Sookie and I were going to be able to fight out way out of this.

That didn't stop me from trying, though. One of the guys reached inside to grab my leg and my reflexes made me kick him right in the mouth. He stumbled back while the others pointed and laughed obnoxiously at him. When he regained his balance, he charged towards me, but was stopped by an oddly familiar voice.

"Boss said to bring them without, bruises. Hurt her and you won't get paid and you'll most likely lose a limb."

That stopped him immediately and he backed off and Al took his place. I tried to kick Al as well, but he wasn't having any of it. He grabbed both of my feet and yanked me roughly, causing me to fall back and hit my head against the van's floor. The other guys grabbed Tiffany and Sookie after Al pulled me completely out. Tiffany screamed so loudly that they stuffed one of their leather gloves in her mouth to keep her quiet. I was manhandled over to someone else and I looked up to see who it was. I gasped when I saw the face and recognition crashed on my like a big wave.

"Darcy?" I asked genuinely surprised at first. I was quickly overcome with betrayal and red hot anger. Darcy was he guy I had met when I first went to meet Nan. He was so nice and a good listener when I needed someone to talk to. Now he was gripping my arm so tightly that I was sure he was cutting off my blood circulation and leaving bruises.

Eric was right when he said that he didn't trust him.

Darcy didn't respond or change his bored expression when I'd recognized him. He only turned and stalked away, pulling me along with him in the direction of a big, modernized house. The rest of the guys followed, talking amongst themselves like they were not currently kidnapping 3 young women. I stumbled after Darcy as he pulled me up to a doorway which was guarded by two big men. They had on pitch black sunglasses so I couldn't tell if they were looking at us or not. They didn't move from their still stance, and it angered me that these guys were just going on about their day while Sookie, Tiffany and I were pushed and pulled into the house. Maybe it was a regular thing for them.

Darcy finally let go of me when we reached the grand foyer. The group of dirty men looked out of place in here. Their muddy shoes squelched on the marble floors and I wondered if the home owner was going to be pissed.

Darcy turned to the group and shushed them with a raise of his hand.

"Take those two downstairs and leave them there. Do not touch them and please don't forget that you're on a job."

They all grumbled and one of the guys stepped closer to Darcy. "Why do I get the feeling that you think you're better than us? Don't forget that you were one of us too. A couple of fancy clothes and a brand new dead bitch boss don't make you no different."

Darcy held his stance, but a flicker of annoyance showed on his face. "Vinny. Just do as I say and don't embarrass me. I got you this job and if you fuck it up, my 'dead bitch boss' will take it out on me… after she's done with you, of course. Now go take the girls downstairs, lock the doors and come right back up."

The guy sneered and turned his back to Darcy as he walked over to the rest of the guys. They pulled Sookie away with them rougher than necessary since she wasn't struggling anymore. When they were out of sight, I turned to glare up at Darcy.

"You son of a bitch." I said, finally.

At least he had to decency to look a tad bit remorseful. "Why are Sookie and the other girl here if Nan only wants me? Let them go."

"Can't do that. Her specific orders were to bring you and the other girl. When I told her you were with Sookie, she requested for her to come to. 'The more the merrier' she said."

"How did you know I was with Sookie?" I asked genuinely curiously.

He broke eye contact with me, choosing to stare at more interesting objects like the wall behind me.

"I've been following you." He said after some minor hesitation. "You know that fox you saw outside of Merlotte's? That was me."

"Get the fuck out. You're not serious." I said as I stared at him wide eyed.

"I'm as serious as a heart attack."

"You're a shapeshifter?"

"How do you even know that term? And why you don't look so surprised to know we exist." He asked as he studied my face intently.

I almost told him that Sam was a shifter, but I clamped my mouth closed. I didn't want to give him any information about my friends. He was probably just going to run and tell Nan everything.

"I know a shifter. I'm more impressed with the fact that Nan keeps a shifter in her entourage. Or are you more like a pet?" I bit out the last sentence harshly and, judging by the look on his face, I'd obviously hit a soft spot.

"I'm not anyone's pet! I have a job like everyone else—"

"So what do you put on your resume? 'Has experience in stalking and kidnapping'?" I was really pushing his buttons now.

He took a step forward and opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but instead, he grabbed my arm again and pulled me towards the stairs.

"Where are you taking me?" I yelled as I struggled against his hold.

"Upstairs."

I didn't want to go upstairs. There were probably beds up there and if he wanted to throw me down on one and take advantage of me, there won't be anyone there to stop him.

"Darcy, let me go!" I said as panic started to creep into my voice while he pulled me up the steps. "You aren't supposed to touch us, remember? Nan said so!"

He stopped immediately and turned to look at me with hard, dark eyes.

"I'm not going rape you, if that's what you think!" He yelled as he quickly released his tight grip on my arm. Unfortunately, I kept pulling and when he let go, I tumbled back and down the steps. It happened so quickly that I didn't know what was going on until my head connected with the floor below. Then everything was black.

* * *

**_Eric's POV_**

The jolt of fear was so strong that it snapped me out of my sleep. The lag in my body let me know automatically that it was still sunlight outside.

It was Adrianne who was in trouble. I could tell that she wasn't here at the hotel and I mentally cursed myself for not making her sleep in my room so I could keep an eye on her. She was not dead or near death as far as I could tell, so right now, the best thing for me to do was wait.

It would be senseless for me to run out into the sun. I'll be no good to her weaken and burned. I lay on the bed in the dark room anxiously waiting for the sun to set while keeping close tabs on her emotions. They continuously switched from anger to fear to nervousness then finally slight relief. But I never got the feeling of intense dread. If those warning signs were to appear, I'd have no trouble finding her quickly, but I'd have to leave immediately. Sunlight be damned.

* * *

By the time dusk was nearing, I was already out of bed and standing in front of Pam's door. I did not need to knock. Our connection let her know that I was coming and she was opening the door before I could blink.

"It's not even dark yet." She drawled over her shoulder as she turned away from me to walk back to her bed. "And you look terrible."

I closed the door behind me and raised my eyebrow at her company lying sprawled out on the bed.

"I must leave now." I said simply and she stared at me.

"Where are you going?"

"Adrianne left sometime while we were asleep. She's in danger now and I must find her."

"Eric, why do you continue to put yourself in troublesome situations over this human?" She asked loud enough to make the girl next to her stir in her sleep. "This is beyond ridiculous!"

"Pam," I said warningly, "I have no time for your contumacious questions."

She folded her arms defiantly and gave me a hard stare. "Let me come with you."

"No. I need you to go about the night as planned. Find the contractors to get the process of rebuilding Fangtasia started."

"At least feed before you go." She said as she stood up to walk to the other side of the bed. She touched the sleeping girl's shoulder lightly. "This one's a bit bland, but she's healthy."

The girl slowly woke out of her sleep and jumped when she saw me standing a few feet away from her. Her bright doe-like eyes blinked a couple times before she frowned. "Who are you?"

"That's none of your concern." I said as calmly as I could while wondering if she will give me her blood willingly or if I would have to take it by force and glamor her after.

She looked back to Pam. "I don't do the group thing."

Pam rolled her eyes and the girl shifted so she could get off the bed. "I should be going…"

"No, no." I said quietly. "Why don't you have a seat?"

The spark of fear in her eyes was quick as she looked at the door behind me.

"I should really go!" She said as she walked past me and reached for the door.

When will they learn?

I was between her and in door in a second. To my annoyance, she started to scream loudly and my hand reached up to cover her mouth.

I dropped my fangs and watched her eyes widen before I lowered my mouth onto her neck and drank.

Pam was right. She was bland. Nothing like Adrianne at all.  
After a short time, the girl's heartbeat began to slow and I pulled back quickly, letting her slump to the floor. Pam was watching me from the bed with her arms crossed and one of her eyebrows raised.

"Glamor her for me will you, Pam?" I said as I turned to leave.

She didn't answer, but she stood up and walked over to where the girl was slumped on the floor, murmuring incoherently.

She shot me an irritated look and I had to muffle a smirk as I opened the door to and stepped out into the hallway.

"Don't get yourself into any more trouble." I heard her voice say from behind me as I closed the door.

* * *

**_Adrianne's POV_**

I woke slowly with a throbbing pain in my head. My hands immediately flew up to the back of my head and checked for blood. There wasn't any, but it still hurt like hell. I sat up to quickly and it sent my vision swimming.

"You have a concussion." I heard Nan say from somewhere in the room. "You've been out for a while now. I've been sitting here waiting for you to get up so we can get this little meeting started."

I didn't even try to seek out her face in the darkness. "Where are Sookie and Tiffany?"

"They're just fine."

Suddenly, the room was filled with a bright light and I squeezed my eyes shut. She so did that on purpose.

When I was sure that my eyes weren't going to burn, I opened them slowly to glare at her. She was sitting on a big, white chair. I was sprawled on a couch and not the bed.

She smiled at me and stood up. "Do you like this room, Adrianne?"

I didn't answer in favor of trying to burn her with my eyes. She went on talking anyway.

"This house was built in the early 1900s; a little while after I moved to America. I'd been almost 200 years old then and I was ready to settle down. You get tired after 2 centuries of traveling the world in darkness."

I stared at her as she leaned against the bed's frame. "It's an antique, this house. It's worth a lot of money since I've upgraded it. I barely use it. It's too grand for me. I like simple things. I planned on giving it to Aiko soon, but I'm starting to change my mind."

"Excuse me if I sound frank, Ms. Flanagan, but I don't really understand why this information is relevant to me." I grounded out slowly. She raised her eyebrows and smiled at me, flashing her perfectly straight teeth.

"I'll just cut to the deal, then."

"Deal?" I asked. "What deal?"

"Come and work for me." She said simply.

I stared at her as if she was insane. "You get some guys to break into my friend's home, kidnap us and locked us in your house just to ask me to work for you? I said no the last time, didn't I? And Eric made it clear that you can't—"

"It's funny that you mentioned Mr. Northman." She said as she sat down at the edge of the bed. "He's the least of my worries now, but he plays an important part in this. He risked his fangs to protect you. Literally. If I was to let the Magister know about his hostile and barbaric actions towards Aiko and I in a semi-public setting, he could get his fangs ripped out. He'd starve and be almost defenseless against other vampires until they grew back. I can even push to make sure all the saved up money from his pathetic little nightclub is forcefully 'donated' to the AVL."

"For someone who claims to want to help vampires succeed and be accepted, you sure seem to enjoy plotting to drag one of your own down."

Nan smiled at me and without her professional makeup on, she looked almost human. _Almost_.

"He's in my way. You could help him out, though. Do as I say and everyone walks away happy."

"It sounds like you're blackmailing me."

"If you put it that way…" She shrugged and I fold my arms across my chest.

"What about Sookie and Tiffany?" I asked after a while.

Nan rolled her eyes. "Sookie will be free to go by midnight. Tiffany on the other hand… I have plans for her."

"What kind of plans?" I asked while trying to keep the shakiness out of my voice. "What are you going to do to her?"

"It's none of your business. Don't worry that pretty little head of yours." She said as she got up and walked over to the door. "Follow me."

I hesitantly got up and followed her out the door. She turned once to make sure I was actually coming before she descended down the same steps I toppled off of earlier. I walked down carefully, not wanting to repeat the incident again. My head was still throbbing.

Downstairs was a bit more populated than before. There were a few vampires walking around and looking busy. Darcy was by the door speaking to one of his 'friends'. They stopped talking when Nan came into their view and Darcy turned to greet Nan as she walked up to him.

"Good evening."

"Good evening, Darcy." She turned to the other guy. "And… friend."

"Darcy and I were just discussing payment." The guy said loudly and it caused Darcy to roll his eyes. "You know, for the job."

"All that would be taken care of when I'm done speaking to my guest." She said as she turned to look at me.

Darcy looked at me as well. "Are you alright?"

"I've never been better." I said coldly.

He was about to open his mouth to speak again when there was a loud thud outside the door. Everyone looked a bit started. Granted, the shifters and humans looked more shaken than the vampires.

Darcy turned around and opened the door. He immediately backed up as a dead animal was thrown into the house.

I clamped my hand over my mouth to keep myself from screaming as the animal (an orange fox) transformed back into a human and started to bleed out onto the marble floor.

The other vampires in the room bared their fangs and looked ready to strike, but Nan held up hand. "Wait!"

Darcy glanced down at his dead friend and looked as if he wanted to go into a rage. He didn't have time to, though, because a blur rushed into the house and pushed him to the floor.

It was Bill. He was pinning Darcy to the ground, snarling in his face and gripping his shirt tightly in his hands

He was followed closely by Eric whose mouth was dripping with blood. I couldn't help but sigh in relief when I saw the both of them.

"You two know how to make an entrance." Nan said a little coldly. All the humor and false kindness was gone from her voice now.

"Your guards are either dead of running off somewhere like cowards." Eric said as he stepped over Bill and Darcy on the floor.

"Killing another vampire is a grave offence." Nan said. She didn't even show any reaction to learning that some of her guards died.

"I'm sure kidnapping human companions of other vampires, one of them being a sheriff, can get you fired and shamed, Nan. I'll take the chance."

Aiko, who appeared out of basically nowhere and touched Nan to get her attention. Nan leaned down, never taking her gaze off of Eric and listened as Aiko whispered something to her.

Eric took that quick moment to stare at me. He was pissed off, of course. I could tell by the look in his eyes that if I ever got out of here, he'd probably want nothing more than to put me back where he found me and forget about me.

Nan stepped back so she was beside me. She placed her hands on my shoulders and I shrugged a little in a weak attempt to make her let go.

"Gentlemen…" She said as she looked down at Bill then up at Eric. "I'd like to have a word with you downstairs."

"You want us to follow you downstairs to 'have a word'?" Eric said slowly as he frowned comically and pretended to ponder her offer. "I must look like an idiot to you."

"I'll choose not to respond to that." Nan said. She sighed and walked over to Bill, gripping his shoulder and pulling him off of Darcy easily. Bill stumbled back against the wall, but quickly regained his composure. "I'll bring her to you, then."

Darcy stumbled up on shaky legs and Nan looked at him with slight distaste. "Go fetch Ms. Stackhouse and bring her up."

Darcy glared at Bill as he walked into the other room. Nan turned to look at everyone else. "Leave."

The other vampires looked hesitant to leave, but they all eventually filed out of the grand foyer. Only Aiko stayed, of course.

When everyone was gone, Eric looked around the room with mild interest before turning to Nan. "Why would you keep a shifter in your circle? If he can't stop young Bill from breaking and entering, he definitely wouldn't be able to stop someone as old as me."

Bill frowned at the insult, but said nothing. Nan laughed.

"He's as close to human as they get. When the public sees that I can keep a human so close to me, some of them see me in a favorable light. They'll trust me faster."

"Boy, are they wrong." I mumbled harshly under my breath. Eric's gaze flickered over to me and I shifted uneasily.

"My job is to get vampires equal rights, Ms. Oliver." She said as she turned to look at me. "I'm not here to actually make friends with humans. If I have to tell a little white lie, so be it."

"What about the kidnapping and blackmail?" I asked. She stepped in front of me and Eric automatically stepped closer.

She narrowed her eyes and was about to stay something when, as if on cue, Sookie's voice was heard ascending somewhere from inside the house. Bill immediately perked up and looked around. A few guys, followed closely by Darcy, dragged Sookie into the room.

"Bill!" Sookie said when she saw him. Her voice was coated with relief. One of the guys practically shoved her at him and he caught her in his arms. He checked her bruises and her split lip before turning his attention back to Nan.

"Mr. Compton, you and your human are free to go when you choose. Sooner rather than later, I'd prefer."

"And me?" I asked as I stepped away from her and closer to Eric.

"You can leave if you want, but you will not forget our arrangement."

"What arrangement?" Eric asked, now apparently interesting in the conversation.

"Darcy, excuse us for a moment." Nan said as she turned to Darcy and his small group. "Lock the doors behind you and let no one in until I say so."

"Alright." Darcy said after a small moment of hesitation. He looked at me for a tiny moment as if he wanted to say something, but Eric's sneer sent him and the other shifters out. They left the body of their dead friend and I tried really hard to avert my eyes away from it.

After they were gone, I spoke up. "Nan said that if I don't do as she says," I paused and looked at Eric. "She'll report you to the Magister or whatever he's called. She said your fangs will be ripped out and you'll starve for months."

Everything was silent for a while. Everyone looked at each other except for Nan and Eric who seemed to be trying to stare each other to death.

"You're borderline insane." Sookie said as she stepped closer. Bill grabbed her arm to keep her back.

"No. Just persistent. And I want Eric Northman out of my business. You should stay out too if you know what's good for you."

"Do not speak to her that way!" Bill said.

Nan threw her head back and laughed. Aiko, to my annoyance, laughed right along with her. "Mr. Compton, I should remind you of your place. I am older and stronger than you and I don't think I like your tone of voice."

"But I am older than you." Eric said darkly before Aiko's laughter died down. "And I am stronger than you. I could snap you and your little problem child like a twig."

"You wouldn't dare!" Nan said loudly enough to make Sookie and I stumble closer to each other. "I am in the hierarchy of the N.A.V. You and your progeny would be removed from existence within a day!"

She paused as she regained her composure before she smiled again. Her grin was slow and devious and I hated it.

"Speaking of your progeny… isn't she on a flight to Dallas right now?" She asked, feigning ignorance.

Eric's eyes hardened, but it only seemed to delight Nan. "Calm yourself, Northman. No harm will come to her, trust me. But I can make things really difficult for you if you don't—"

Nan was interrupted by a flash of color pushing her onto the floor. It was faster than I could see, but when my eyes finally adjusted, I saw Eric kneeling on Nan's stomach, keeping her pinned to the floor. One of his hands were wrapped around her neck and the other was fisted in her hair. The whole thing just looked painful and a sick part of me hoped it hurt like hell.

"Eric!" Bill said as he ran towards him. He gripped Eric's shoulder, but Eric flung him off like a pesky fly and sent him flying across the room.

Sookie and I gasped and she ran over to him. He was fine, but he left a huge dent in the wall and broke an antique looking table that looked like it probably cost more than everybody's entire outfit.

Aiko took two steps before Eric turned to glare at her. She stopped in her tracks and bit her bottom lip looking helpless.

"How did you know about Pam?" Eric said as he grounded his knee harder into her stomach. She let out a small gasp of pain, but, surprisingly remained calm.

"I have my sources."

"Ms. Flanagan, is everything alright in there?" Someone asked from outside. Everybody froze. If one of her guys were to come in here and see this, he'd alert the other vampires and we'd all be killed within the hour.

"Send him away or I'll twist your neck off before you could blink." Eric warned as he visibility tightened his hand around her neck.

Nan sneered, but she opened her mouth and yelled out, "I'm fine."

There was a brief silence as if the guy outside was listening for any sign of trouble, but soon, the footsteps started retreating away from the door and I let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Nan smiled again, but it was tighter and a little forced. "What are you going to do, Eric? Kill me? You aren't that stupid."

"Why were you keeping tabs on Pam and I?" Eric asked, ignoring her question. "Who's been giving you this information?"

"Get off me and we'll discuss this like rational, modern day vampires. You're over a thousand years old. Surely, you've left your Viking days behind!"

Eric laughed. "I can make you talk."

"Can you really?"

Eric was silent for at least a minute before he turned to look at me.

"Adrianne, bring me that piece of wood." He said as he glanced over to the broken table and back at me.

I hesitated then shook my head. "Eric..."

"Bring me the wood! Now."

Everyone was looking at me. Sookie widened her eyes as if telling me 'Don't do it!'. Bill looked a little concerned, but his face stayed stoic and near expressionless. Nan was glaring at me from under Eric. If looks could kill, I would have been dead.

I had only taken a few steps over to the broken table before I was tackled to the floor. All of the air rushed out of me and I turned to stare up at Aiko's face. She began scratching every part of my body that her hands touched. I tried to kick her off, but even with Eric's blood in me, she was too strong. She was snatched off by Bill, kicking and screaming. I wondered how old and strong Bill was and if he'd be able to hold her off for long. Sookie was at my side in an instant. She helped me up before Aiko could escape Bill's hold. I looked at Eric, who was struggling with Nan. She was pushing with all her strength now. Her calm façade wore off and I briefly began to suspect that Aiko was her progeny.

I jumped up when Aiko freed herself from Bill's arms and rushed over to Eric. The whole situation was turning into a mess now. A big, loud mess.

Suddenly, the pieces of wood in the corner caught my eyes. I crawled over to it and picked up one of the jagged table legs. I crept slowly over to Eric who was handling both Aiko and Nan now and I lifted my hand with the stake.

Aiko turned around just as I began to lower the stake and she grabbed my hand.

She pushed me back hard against the marble floor and jumped towards me. As a last minute act of self-defense, I reached out for another table leg and rose it up just as she dove in. When she saw the wood, it was too late for her to back off. She slammed right into it. At first, I thought that it missed her heart completely, but then blood started to pour out of her mouth and her eye irises turned into a clearish white. Her blood fell all over me and I barely had time to block my face as she dissolved into a sticky red mess.

"Oh, god." I heard Sookie say from somewhere in the room. I couldn't breathe properly. I'd just killed someone. A vampire who was going to kill me, no doubt, but still _SOMEONE_. Seeing the eyes of a little girl widen in disbelief and horror before she died made the situation at least 10 times worse. It didn't matter how old she actually was.

I heard a bellow from Eric's general direction and before I knew what was happening, Nan was above me, staring down at the puddle that used to be Aiko. I was soaked in it.

She was letting out little chocked gasps. Anger and sorrow was all over her face as she kneeled down on the floor and touched the blood with shaking hands.

"I'm sorry." I chocked out. I didn't know what else to say.

She looked at me. Eyes flashing with rage as bloody tears began to pour out of her eyes. She reached out and grabbed my arm with her cold hands.

I started to stagger back at the same time Sookie screamed, "No!"

But I was too slow and she grabbed my throat. She wasted no time on any speeches or dramatics. She grabbed me by my hair and pulled my head to one side, exposing my neck. After blocking some of my attempts to knock her off, she dove down and sank her teeth into my neck. She bit me a lot harder than Eric did and she twisted my neck so painfully that it thought it was going to crack.

I resigned myself to screaming as loud as I could. Nan drank quickly as if she wanted to drain me as fast as possible and I could feel myself getting weak. Suddenly, her body was pulled away, causing her fangs to rip out of my neck and make the puncture holes bigger. My hands flew up to my neck to attempt to stop the bleeding as Nan was toss off to the side. Eric stood above her with the same piece of wood I used to accidentally kill Aiko. His fangs were bared and the cuts he got from handling Aiko and Nan at the same time were quickly fading. He had a deep burning circle across his cheek and I guessed Nan took silver to him when he was distracted.

She looked up at him with my blood coating her lips as she braced herself to attack. Before she could, he brought the stake down, pushed it into her heart and _twisted_ it.

I scrambled back towards Sookie and Bill as Nan repeated the same process Aiko did a few minutes ago.

Her blood sprayed on the white walls and some had landed close to where Sookie, Bill and I were. I was frozen on the ground as the scene in front of me reached its climax. By now, Nan had fully dissolved into a pool of dark blood. Eric was crouched over her with the piece of wood in his hand. He was covered in blood and he looked no less than murderous.

Someone began to bang on the door and I started to feel faint. I wobbled a little and absentmindedly registered somebody's (Sookie's?) hand on my shoulder.

Eric and Bill looked at each other.

I felt sick, I was covered in blood, and Nan's bite hurt like a bitch.

"If we make it out of here." I said quietly as the person outside continued to knock. "I am done with this. All of it."

Eric reached out to touch my neck where Nan had bitten me. I subconsciously flinched away and he pulled his hand back as if he'd been burned.

Bill ran his hand through his hair. "We need to —"

Just then, the door was finally kicked opened. Darcy and two of his friends stood in the doorway looking at the mess on the floor.

"What the fuck happened in here?" Darcy said as he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. "Is that Nan?"

Nobody answered, but by the look on his face, I guessed that he knew the answer already.

One of the shifters ran his hand through his short blond hair before he let out a huff of borderline manic laughter. "You all are fucked. Wait... if she's dead, who's gonna pay us?"

Eric ignored him and turned to Darcy. "You're going to show us a way out of here undetected."

"No fucking way!" Darcy said in a frantic, panicked voice. "I'm not getting into your mess."

Eric bared his fangs again and walked over to Darcy in a blur. He grabbed him by his shirt and lifted him off his feet.

"Alright, alright!" Darcy said. "There's an underground escape route Nan made us build leading out to main road. It's a 20 minute walk, 15 minutes if you run."

He paused and swallowed. "You can get there from the door downstairs."

Eric looked at Bill then at Sookie and I. "Let's go."

He turned around to look the other shifters and stared directly into their eyes. "You two. Come here."

Their faces seemed to slacken almost immediately as they drifted over to where Eric was standing. "I want you to turn around and walk back out the door. Forget you ever came in here and forget what you just saw."

The two shifters nodded dumbly. I'd realized then that he'd glamored them.

Eric smiled. "Go."

They walked backwards as they rushed out the door, leaving Darcy behind looking helpless.

Eric dropped Darcy on the ground and grabbed the back of his neck. "Lead the way."


	10. Tenfold

**Chapter 10 - Tenfold  
**

_Warnings for this chapte_r: _bad language, violence, blood_

_

* * *

_

Darcy led us through one of the grand double doors and into a long hallway. When we reached the end of the hall, he pulled out a ring of keys and started filing through them to get the right one.

"Calm down." Eric said from behind him, making him jump. "Keep it together or we'll never get out of here."

Darcy didn't reply, but he searched faster and when he found the key, he used it to unlock the door and open it. There stairs leading down towards the basement were in definite contrast with the rest of the house. It was dusty, concrete and dark. Darcy motioned for us to follow him as he flicked on a light and led the way downstairs. Bill closed the door behind us and the sound of it caused me a jump a little. When we reached the bottom, Darcy turned and flicked on some more lights. He pointed towards a rickety looking door.

"That's the way out." He said as he looked at us. "We need to move fast."

"Wait!" Sookie said suddenly. "What about Tiffany?"

"What?" Eric said impatiently.

"We don't have time to go back for her!" Darcy said in a loud whisper. "We really need to get out of here!"

"We can't just leave her here with a house full of vampires."

"We can!" Eric said as he reached for the door knob.

"I CAN'T!" Sookie said as she turned away from Eric and to Darcy. "Which one of these doors lead to the room I was in?"

Darcy sighed and pointed to a door on the left. Eric threw his hands up in frustration. Sookie ignored him and demanded that Darcy open the door for her.

"It won't take long." She said to everyone as Darcy began to open the door. "Bill, just run in there and get her. You're faster than I am."

Bill nodded and Eric snorted. I was getting impatient.

Once the door was opened, Bill rushed in and he was out with Tiffany within a matter of moments. She was looking a bit out of it and when she saw Sookie and I, she smiled with relief and gratitude.

"How are you feeling?" Sookie asked her as she helped her get steady on her feet.

"Like shit." Tiffany said bluntly. "But I'm just happy we're getting out of here."

"You won't make it out of here if we don't get moving RIGHT NOW." Darcy said as he turned his back to us and walked over to the exit doors. Everyone followed and watched silently as he opened the door and revealed a dark and dusty pathway that seemed to lead to nowhere.

"This is going to take us out to the main road?" Bill asked as we began to file in without hesitation.

"It better." Eric said as he threw a glare back at Darcy while the other man closed the door behind us.

* * *

The pathway was dingy and smelled of copper and dirt. The ceiling was really low and everybody (especially Eric) had to crotch in order to walk through it. Everyone walked quickly and in complete silence. Darcy was in front, Eric was behind him and Sookie and Bill were close behind them. Tiffany and I were behind the group.

I felt lightheaded. I'd lost a lot of blood from when Nan's fangs got ripped out of my neck. I didn't want to complain because I didn't want to slow everybody down. I just grit through the pain and quicken my pace so I didn't get left behind.

Surprisingly, it didn't take long for us to reach a dead end. Darcy looked up and felt around on the ceiling for something. His hands landed on a something rusty and he turned it. Well he _**tried**_ to turn it, but it was so rusted and tightly locked that it was near impossible for him to do it.

Eric gave him an annoyed look before he pushed him slightly out of the way and tried turning the handle himself. The latch made a skin crawling _screetch _before unbolting. Eric pushed at the low roof and suddenly the place was filled with the low light of the moon and fresh air. I inhaled deeply and closed my eyes for a slight moment, enjoying the pleasant, clean oxygen.

Eric darted up first, faster than my eyes could keep track of. He extended a hand to Sookie and moved out of the way for Bill to jump up. After, Darcy held out his hand to me as if I needed him to push me up.

"I can get up myself, thanks." I said as I brushed past him and over to where Eric was standing above me.

"I'm just trying to be nice." Darcy said as he pulled back his hand.

"I don't need you to be nice." I said stubbornly as I jumped up and latched onto the edge of the entrance with my hands. I began to pull myself up when Eric gripped my arms and pulled me straight out.

He set me down on my feet and stared at me. I shifted under his gaze and shuffled out of the way. He turned away from me and helped Tiffany up then extended a hand to help Darcy up. I was actually half expecting him to shut the door in his face and leave him down there.

After everyone was out and finished dusting off their clothes, Darcy began to explain in detail how to get out onto the main road. Apparently, there was a small woody area we're have to track through in order to get to civilization.

"Where are we?" I asked Darcy as we began to walk towards the thick bushes and trees.

"Montpelier." Eric answered before Darcy had a chance to.

"That's about a two hour drive from Bon Temps." Sookie said.

"I'm ashamed to say that I didn't even know that this place existed." I said as I tried to keep my hands from touching my bite mark.

Darcy chuckled. "The population here is very low. Only about 200 or so, last time I bothered to check."

I was about to respond when a loud noise filled the air. My hands immediately flew up to my ears as Tiffany's voice rang out from behind me. I turned just in time to see her crumpling to the ground. Darcy followed her down, catching her before she fully it the ground. Blood was pouring out of her leg and it didn't take long to realize that she'd been shot. Another loud gunshot rang out and Sookie, Bill and I ducked, but the bullet seemed to miss its intended target.

Eric's fangs lurched out as his eyes fixed on a spot in the woods not too far from where we were standing. He moved at lightning speed into the darkness of the trees and I strained my eyes as I tried to see what was going on. There were loud gurgling noises and the sound of shuffling before Eric emerged out of the woods dragging one of the shooters with him.

"How many?" Bill asked as he walked over to a screaming Tiffany.

"Four." Eric answered as he dropped the frightened guard and let him fall to the ground. "Three dead."

Bill looked disapprovingly at Eric before he leaned down to inspect the wound on Tiffany's leg. She groaned and screamed. Darcy clamped a hand over her mouth.

"I know it hurts, but you need to try to keep quiet."

He removed his hand and she bit into her bottom hip. He tore off a piece of his shirt sleeve and handed it to Bill.

I bent down. "Tiffany, look at me." I said as Bill reached for her leg. "Hold my hand."

She reached out with both of her shaking hands and gripped mines tightly in them. Her eyes started to drift down to see what Bill was doing, but I tugged her gently. "No! Look at me."

Her eyes snapped up and she nodded quickly. Tears were streaming down her face and her face was flushed red with the need to scream for dear life. Even in that state, I thought she was doing pretty well for someone her age.

Bill quickly got to work, tying Darcy's sleeve around the wound in order to stop the bleeding. The moment he tied a knot, she couldn't hold it in anymore. She opened her mouth and Darcy was quick to cover it as she screamed and screamed.

Bill's fangs had popped out during the process and, even though he was 'mainstreaming', he was still a vampire and I was scared that him seeing all this blood would send him into bloodlust.

"Shh, shh." Darcy said as her cries turned into weak pants and he was finally able to remove his hand from her mouth.

"Fuck you." She snapped in between sobs. "It fucking hurts like a motherfuck!"

I smiled slightly and Bill gently dropped her leg before turning away quickly.

"Now we have to deal with you." Eric said down to the surviving guard. I'd honestly forgotten that he was there.

"Please don't kill me!" The guy said. "I didn't shoot!"

Eric bent down and gripped the man's neck in his hand.

"Eric!" Bill said angrily. "You do not have to kill him."

Eric rolled his eyes and pulled his hand away. "What do you suggest we do with him, then?"

"Knock him out?" Sookie suggested with a shrug at the same time Bill said, "We should glamor him."

"They'll know a vampire glamored him," Darcy chimed in.

"Yes, but they won't know who actually did it." I responded.

We were all discussing what to do with Mr. Survivor and barely noticed when the subject of our discussion was moving.

Suddenly, Tiffany, who was too wrecked with pain to join our conversation, yelled out, "KNIFE!"

Eric spun around, but it was too late. The man reached up and stabbed his thigh with the shiny knife. Eric doubled over and he took that opportunity to get up and begin running back in the direction of Nan's house.

The flesh around the stab wound was burning and Eric looked in absolute pain. Silver. It had to be silver. I rushed over to him and grabbed his leg. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bill taking off after the man.

"Pull it out." Eric said in a strained voice.

I wrapped my hand around the knife and I pulled it as hard as I could. The wound began to close almost immediately, but the spot was still red and irritated.

I threw the knife behind me and Eric rose to his feet and took off in the direction of the guy who was now being pinned by Bill.

When he reached them, he pulled Bill off. Bill stumbled back and yelled, "Eric! Do not kill him!"

But it was too late, of course. Eric bent down and sank his teeth into the man's neck, silencing him immediately. There was a sickening noise I couldn't put into words when he pulled back and I turned away from the sight in front of me. I was facing Sookie and she was wearing the same disgusted expression as I.

Tonight, I learned how quickly vampires can kill. It's quick and almost immediate if they knew the right spots to hit. Judging by the guy's scream, I guessed that they can make it really painful as well.

Bill was angry now. He was yelling and Eric was responding to him calmly like he didn't just _kill_ someone. Everybody seemed to be freaking out but him. I wondered if he had any remorse after he killed someone. After all, he was alive for a long, long time. Maybe he lost his remorsefulness along the way.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by Darcy's voice.

"We have to get moving. We've wasted enough time here." He looked down at Tiffany before he motioned for Bill. "You have to carry her. I can't carry her and move quickly."

Bill shot once last annoyed glance at Eric before he walked over to Tiffany and picked her up. She groaned in pain and Sookie tried to comfort her and tell her it was going to be alright. No one made eye contact with Eric as he picked up the body and followed us as we walked towards the woods.

He dumped the body somewhere in the thick trees and bushes. I was walking in front of the group with Darcy, so I didn't even notice when he did it. One minute he had it and the next, he didn't.

* * *

There were thorns and sharp branches in the woods and I had scratches and bruises by the time we were nearing an exit.

"I thought we'd never get out of there." Tiffany said as Bill started to walk faster.

"What better place to hide an evil lair than in the middle of nowhere behind tons of trees?" I said sarcastically as I finally stepped over the final cluster of bushes and onto the dirt sidewalk.

Tiffany giggled. "We're one step closer to putting this fucking place in our rearview mirror."

"Language." Bill said as he looked down at Tiffany. She stared at him for a short while before she laid her head down on his chest.

"My father never keeps me in check about my language. In fact, he's never home."

He looked down at her mess of blond hair. He looked extremely uncomfortable when she wrapped her arms around his neck. Eric raised an eyebrow and Sookie looked borderline pissed off. I wanted to laugh, but this wasn't the right time for that, was it?

"How did you two get here?" Darcy asked Eric and Bill.

"We… borrowed someone's car and left it in Livingston. Eric left me and flew the rest of the way after we had a disagreement. I ran." Bill glared at Eric.

"You flew? Awesome." Tiffany said to Eric with her arms still wrapped tightly around Bill's neck. "Bill, can you fly?"

She was looking up at him with the biggest adoration in her eyes and I had to turn away from the scene to keep from laughing.

Bill stammered. "Uh, no. Only certain vampires can fly."

"That's a shame." Tiffany said. "That's alright. You're cool without it."

"Can we start walking now, please?" Sookie asked abruptly.

"No need to." Eric said as he looked up the street. "A truck's coming."

"We're going to steal a pick-up truck?" Sookie asked.

"Do you have any better ideas, Ms. Stackhouse? I don't need to take a car, but there are miles between here and the nearest city. You'll have a hard time walking all that way, don't you think?"

Sookie folded her arms and didn't say anything.

"Bill stand at the edge of the road. Try to look panicked."

Bill ran out to the edge of the road and waited for the truck to come closer before he shook Tiffany as if he was hailing a cab with a body.

The person stopped as soon as they saw him in the dim moonlight.

"What happened?" He asked as he rolled down the window to look at us. We were dirty and bruised so at least we all looked the part of being helpless.

"She's been shot!" Bill said with faux panic. "We just need a lift to civilization. I need to get her to a hospital."

The man looked dubious, but he pulled over to the side of the street. "If you can all fit back there, I'd be happy to give you a lift. I'm on my way to Bogalusa, myself. I'm going to see parents. I haven't seen them in about 15 years."

Sookie and I looked at each other. We were both beginning to feel extremely guilty.

He got out of the truck to help Bill load Tiffany into the back seat. After a long moment of shuffling her gently in and making sure she was fine, the guy started to make his way back to the front of the truck.

"I'll drive." Bill said as he stepped in front of him.

The man suddenly became suspicious and began to protest. "I don't think—"

"That is a nice truck." Bill said as his voice took a low, persuasive tone.

The man's objection died on his lips and his face went totally slack. "Yes. It's a very nice vehicle."

"You don't mind if I borrow it, do you?" Bill asked.

"Of course not." The man said as he handed Bill the keys. "Here are the keys."

"Bill." Sookie said from the backseat. She gave him a stern look and he nodded once before turning back to the man.

"We just need to borrow it for a while. We'll give it back to you when we've reached our destination."

Eric rolled his eyes and climbed into the front seat of the pick-up truck. I joined Sookie and Tiffany in the back and Bill told Darcy to sit in the open trunk space with the glamored man.

After a few more adjustments, Bill started the truck up and took off down the dark road. He drove too quickly, but I didn't complain. The faster we were out of this town, the better.

* * *

We'd been driving for over an hour when Bill and Eric started to discuss where we'd actually go. Going back to Bon Temps or Shreveport was a terrible idea, Eric said, and a vampire hotel was out of the question.

"We need a human home so if push comes to shove, any vampires looking for us will need a human invitation."

"I have a place in Uptown New Orleans." Tiffany said quietly. "Well, it's my dad's place. His mistress used to live there, but she moved out a few months ago because she was tired of being the 'other woman'. Poor girl. She was only 24, though. If I was poor and a rich guy asked me to be his mistress and in exchange I get lots of gifts and a big house, I'd do it."

Tiffany laughed bitterly and everyone turned to look at her. Even Eric turned to give her a quizzical glance. Bill was staring at her from the rearview mirror, his expression a cross between remorseful and slightly shocked.

"Your father sounds like a real stand up guy." I said.

"You have no idea." Tiffany said as she turned away and looked out the window.

"To New Orleans, then." Eric said as he turned around to face the road.

"To New Orleans." Bill agreed.

* * *

We were somewhere in Metairie when we'd notice Darcy wasn't in the back of the truck anymore. Well, Eric said he knew he jumped off the trunk about 45 minutes ago, leaving the glamored man behind. When Bill asked why he didn't tell the rest of us, Eric just shrugged and said, "I didn't see the point."

Despite disliking him after what he'd done, I caught myself wondering if he was alright. I wondered if he'd be in trouble if Nan's people found out that he helped us leave. Would he even go back to them? Would he say he was taken hostage? Did he even survive after he jumped out of a pickup moving almost 90 miles per hour? I shook my head to clear my thoughts and tried to forget about him. He was still tingling the back of my mind when we'd reach New Orleans.

I'd only been to New Orleans once (a shame, I know) and I always wanted to go again. Now, I was probably in the most beautiful neighborhood in New Orleans and I was too exhausted to be excited.

Tiffany gave us the directions to the house and we arrived in front of it in record time thanks to Bill's fast (but surprisingly careful) driving.

Bill parked the car on the curb and got the code from Tiffany to open the electronically locked gates. Next, he parked the car in the huge driveway before shutting the car off and hopping out. Eric was out soon after and as soon as his long legs touched the ground, he began pacing. Bill moved to the back to help Tiffany out of the car and he and Sookie got into a silent discussion. After I got out, I turned to Eric.

"Hey, you alright?" I asked after a moment. He was still pacing back and forward, looking agitated. He turned quickly to look at me and the hard look in his eyes made me jump a little. I was still a bit shaken up after watching and hearing Eric kill earlier. I didn't even notice when I'd become scared of him. It just happened along the way.

"Fine." He said as his eyes softened. "I'm fine."

"'Kay." I said before I backed up, turned around, and followed Bill as he carried Tiffany up the long walkway.

When Tiffany said this house was big, she wasn't lying. The house was _**huge**_ and I imaged the inside would be a lot more impressive.

"I don't have my keys." Tiffany said as she shifted a little in Bill's arms. "But I can pick the locks."

She waggled her eyebrows at me.

"Where'd you learn that?" I asked.

"I hung out with some kids who did bad things for a living last summer." She said as Bill set her down gently. She gritted her teeth as he helped her towards the door and she turned around to look at Bill, Sookie and I.

"Anyone got a credit card or a bobby pin?"

Everyone looked at each other then shook their heads.

Suddenly a white hand appeared from over my shoulder. It was holding a credit card between its index and middle finger. I turned slowly to see who it was and came fact to chest with Eric. I tensed up and turned around again.

Tiffany worked on the door for about 7 minutes. "I'm a little rusty." She said as she finally got it open. She turned around proudly before her eyes snapped open and she wobbled in the house. She fiddled with something on the wall by the door before she opened the door wider and handed the credit card back to Eric.

"The alarm." She said simply. "Good thing I didn't forget about that."

"Come in." She said to the two vampires waiting at the door before she wobbled over the one of the sitting chairs and collapsed in it. Bill and Eric let themselves in.

"I almost forgot about our extra passenger." Bill said as he walked back over to the door.

"He's already on his way." Eric said as he looked around the place. "I glamored him myself."

Bill nodded and didn't say anything else on the subject, though, I could tell he wanted to.

"Let me look at your leg." Bill said to Tiffany. "Do you have a first aid kit in here?"

"I have no idea." She said warily. "There might be one in the bathroom down the hall."

"I'll go see if I can find anything useful." Sookie said as she marched down the hall.

"Adrianne, bring me some warm water and a towel, if you can find one." Bill said as he began to unwrap Darcy's sleeve from around her leg. I turned around and walked into the kitchen, which was right next to the sitting area. I searched for the biggest bowl I could find before running over to the sink and filling it was near hot water. I was beginning to hear Tiffany's sobs coming from the sitting room and I felt sorry for her. I'd never been shot, but I imagined that it would hurt like hell.

I looked around for a towel, but I couldn't find one, so I walked back into the sitting room and sat the bowl of warm water on the table. Sookie came back a minute later with a bunch of miscellaneous items in her hand and a few towels draped over her shoulder.

"Is she going to be alright?" I asked as Bill started to get to work.

"She'll be fine if she doesn't lose much more blood. If things get worst, I'll have to give her my blood or take her to the hospital." Bill said without looking up.

"Hospital sounds like a better option." Sookie said as she folded her arms and stared at the back of Bill's head.

Bill froze and turned around to look at Sookie. "And what do you suppose we tell the staff when we take her? 'Oh, someone from the AVL kidnapped her and one of their guards shot her!'"

"Don't you talk to me like I'm stupid, Bill Compton."

I shook my head and walked towards the bathroom as Bill and Sookie continued arguing behind me. I wanted to wash my face and hands and take care of my own wound. Plus, I had no intention of sitting there and listening to Bill and Sookie bicker. They do that a lot. I sometimes wonder if they were even a compatible couple. But, they seemed to really love each other and besides, it was none of my business.

I found the bathroom easily. Once inside, I washed my hands and my face and finally ran some water over the fang bites on my neck.

I winced because it still hurt like hell. I opened the medicine cabinet to see if I could find anything to clean it with. I found some alcohol swabs, a tiny tube of Neosporin and some Band-Aids.

I also found a half used bottle of lube.

"Ew." I said as read the bottle description and started giggling.

"What's funny?" Someone said from behind me and I jumped and shut the medicine cabinet quickly. I turned around and stared at Eric who was leaning against the door frame and looking at me with a tiny amused expression on his face.

"N-nothing." I said quickly.

He made and 'hm' noise in his throat before he strode over to where I was standing and took the bottle from my hands. "You know," he said as he read the bottle label, "It's not polite to snoop."

"I wasn't snooping." I said as I took a step back. "I was just looking for something to clean up this bite, that's all."

He dropped the bottle and reached out to touch my face. My heart sped up as his fingers trailed my cheek and pushed my hair back from my face. I tried to move away, but he stopped me and pulled me a little closer to him. He was clean now. At least his face was. When did he clean up?

"You're afraid of me." He said softly while his eyes scanned my face.

"No!" Lies, ofcourse. I was starting to become terrified.

"I wasn't asking." He took a step back and regarded me closely. "I want you to understand that I'm a vampire. It's in my nature to be vicious. Do not let the AVL and Mainstreaming Bill Compton tell you any different. Though we can control ourselves, we can kill very easily if we have to. I also want you to understand that I'm not a brainless killing machine. There are some of us who get a kick out of taking someone else's life, but I am not like them. I do what I have to when I have to do it."

He was silent for a while as if he was waiting for a reaction.

"I just… never saw someone kill someone else before." I said quietly.

"Do you think I would hurt you?" He asked.

"I don't know. I don't know you. We barely know each other."

Eric didn't respond. He just reached for me again. "Let me look at your neck."

I didn't flinch away this time. He brushed my hair back and tilted my head so he could look at the bite. He wordlessly reached for the alcohol swabs and opened them with his teeth. He brushed a few of the pads over the wound and tried to keep me still when I squirmed.

After he finished, he put a bandage on it and threw the trash in a waste bin near the door.

"Thank you." I said quietly as he came back to stand in front of me. He didn't respond. He just glanced at my neck again in a way that made me feel like I was dinner.

"I'm gonna go check on Tiffany." I said as I started to walk out of the bathroom.

"She'll be fine." He said as he gripped my arm to stop me. I looked down at his hand then back at him just in time to see him leaning down.

My mind was instantly flooded with 1000 voices all telling me to do different things. The minute his lips touched mines, though, the voices disappeared and left a white noise in their wake.

Eric kissed like he had 1000 years to practice, which is funny because it was true. Even though we'd kissed at 3 different occasions including this one, I was still surprised at how good it felt to kiss him. And it seemed like he liked kissing me too, even though I was young and inexperienced.

With his arms wrapped around me and his expert lips attached to mines, all the worries from earlier just seemed to melt away. He pressed me back against the sink and I hit my elbow against something, but I didn't care.

Suddenly, the door opened and I tore my mouth away from Eric's.

Sookie stood in the doorway looking at me then back at Eric.

"You don't knock?" Eric said as he continued to push up against me. Sookie stammered for a while before she apologized quickly.

"Sorry. I needed to use the bathroom." She said. After closer inspection, I noticed that she had tears in her eyes. Her argument with Bill had probably escalated.

Eric turned to look at her. "I'm guessing there are a few other bathrooms in this house."

Sookie's eyes hardened and she didn't seem sorry anymore. "This one was the closest. And it's not my fault you two are classless enough to do it in a bathroom!"

She stormed off down the hall and I dropped my head on Eric's shoulder to hide my embarrassment. "I'm going to go talk to her."

"That's fine. I need to talk to Bill anyway. And I need to call Pam."

"Do you think the AVL will find out you killed Nan?"

"Oh, yes. Definitely. There were too many witnesses when we came in."

I sighed. "What are you going to do?"

"Get Pam back here as soon as possible and then turn myself in."

"What?" I asked as I leaned back to stare at him as if he'd gone insane.

"Turning myself in is the best option. If I hide for too long, it will only make the situation more complicated and more dangerous." He paused. "I will be punished, but the chances of them giving me the true death will be very slim. It is, however, still likely."

"You're scaring me." I said quietly as I stared up at him.

"It isn't my intention, but I figured blunt honesty is mandatory right now." He stepped back now, relieving some pressure off my hips and ending the grim part of the conversation. "We'll talk later. All of us. After Sookie has calmed down and Tiffany has gone to bed. I'm going to call Pam."

"Alright." I said, grateful that he even considered including me in his conversation with Bill.

I shifted a little as I moved away from the sink and towards the door. I turned around and threw a tiny smile at Eric before I moved out into the hallway.

As soon as I was out of his sight, my smile faded. My worries were back tenfold and it really felt like it was eating a hole right through my chest.

* * *

**A/N**

Thanks to everyone who's been reading, reviewing, favoriting and adding the fic to their alerts! I feel really giddy when I read the reviews because they're all so nice and the reactions are awesome. thanks again guys! xx


	11. Faire l'amour

**Chapter 11 - Faire l'amour  
**

_Warnings for this chapte_r: _bad language, adult themes_

_

* * *

_

I'd caught up with Sookie in the back yard of the house. There was a beautiful garden back there and I hoped the gardener or housekeeper hadn't planned on coming in to see to it as long as we were here. Sookie was sitting on the painted black metal swing bench a few feet away from the back door. She barely acknowledged me as I walked over to her and took a seat. We sat there for a while in complete silence. After a few moments, she sighed and started to play with the hem of her Bon Temps Football t-shirt.

"Bill decided to give Tiffany his blood."

I remained quiet, wondering if she had anything else to add to that. She didn't, so I spoke up.

"How is she doing?"

"She's fine. The bullet went straight through her thigh so there's nothing to extract. It just left two bad gashes in its wake. I didn't even know it was that bad until all the blood had been cleared out. They should be complete gone by now though, if she drank enough." She said sullenly. "I know I'm being ridiculous and selfish. I'm worrying more about her attraction to him than her wellbeing. That makes me feel even worse."

I nodded. I understood how she felt. I would be a little jealous if she had an obvious crush on Eric and he had to give her his blood even though we're not… together.

"Hey," I said as I turned to look at her. "She's like 15 years old. Do you honestly think Bill will have any attraction to someone that young? It's like a tiny high school crush. Plus, she had daddy issues so the attraction might have stemmed from there with Bill being all… father-ish."

Sookie smiled as she turned to look at me. "Father-ish? No!"

I rolled my eyes. "Sookie come on! Bill is a total dad. He even dresses like a dad!"

Sookie threw back her head and laughed. "Ok, so he's a little brawny—"

"A little?" I gave her my best 'whatever you say' face. She laughed again and leaned back into the bench.

"Now I feel so silly for acting the way I did." She said after her laughter died had down. "I should apologize to them."

"I'm sure they'd appreciate it if you do." I said.

"I should apologize to you too. I didn't mean to call you classless. Whatever you do with Eric and wherever you guys do it is none of my business."

My smile faded and my mood descended at the mention of his name, but I played it off smoothly and started toying with a lock of my dark hair. "It's fine. I know you didn't mean it."

Before she could say anything else on the subject, I changed it. "Speaking of Eric, we should go inside. He said he wants to have a discussion with all of us about the whole…" I motioned my hand in what I guessed was the general direction of Montpelier and Nan's messy remains.

"Oh." Sookie said as she stood up. "Alright."

Her strict game face was back on now. No silly smiles or sadness, just plain determination. I led the way back to the door and opened it before I stepped inside. Sookie shuffled in after me and shut the door behind us. From back here, I could hear Bill and Tiffany talking about something. Tiffany sounded lively and animated, but she didn't sound too happy. In fact, she sounded irritated.

Sookie and I made our way back to the huge living room to see what all the commotion was about. Tiffany was sitting on the couch with her eyes squeezed shut and her hands clamped over her ears as if she was trying to block Bill out.

"What's going on?" I asked Bill as he looked up to watch us come in.

Bill sighed. "I'm trying to find out why Nan would have an interest in Tiffany, but she keeps lying to me about everything."

"I'm not lying!" Tiffany said as she stood up and pointed her finger at Bill. "You need to mind your business."

"It is my business!" Bill said as he stood up and raised his voice level a few tones higher. "I find it coincidental that you're kidnapped on the same day as Adrianne and Sookie and I want to know why! You owe us that much!"

"I don't owe you a goddamn thing!" Tiffany said as she held her ground.

"Okay." I said while I stepped between Bill and Tiffany. "Both of you just calm down!"

Tiffany flopped down on the couch and started fuming to herself.

"That's a terrible idea." Sookie said to Tiffany suddenly. Tiffany looked up shocked and a little frightened.

"What?" I asked as I looked at Tiffany then back to Sookie.

"She's wondering if she should pick a fight with Bill to draw his attention away from something. I can't tell. Her words are all jumbled."

"How did you know what I was thinking?" Tiffany asked as she stared at Sookie. "I didn't say anything out loud!"

"Who are your parents?" Bill asked suddenly. His expression was confused and he looked as though he was trying to remember something.

"They're architects." Tiffany said defensively.

Sookie shook her head. "She's lying."

"Ok, what the fuck are you?" Tiffany said. She no longer looked appalled or scared. She just looked pissed now. I would be too if I was trying to hide something and someone kept invading my mind. "Never mind. I don't want to know!"

She took off in the direction of the kitchen at the same time Eric started coming in. Sookie began to chase after her, but Eric grabbed a hold of her wrists and stopped her.

"I need to speak to Bill and I'd like you and Adrianne to hear it." He motioned to a free space on one of the couches and she sank into it. I took a seat at the edge of the coffee table and waited for Eric to speak.

"Tomorrow, you must leave for Bon Temps as soon as possible. Pam will come to you and tell you if everything is alright in your neck of the woods."

"What would you be doing?" Sookie asked as she leaned forward and perched her elbows on her knees.

"Tomorrow evening, I will turn myself in to the AVL and from there, they will consult the authority." Eric said as he looked at each of us. He said it as calmly as if he was talking about the weather. "As I explained to Adrianne earlier, turning myself in is the best option. It's better than hiding for the rest of eternity. The chance of them giving me the true death is slim since I am very old and very much involved in Sophie-Ann's queendom, but I will still be in a lot of trouble."

"I shall accompany you." Bill said awkwardly as if he wasn't completely comfortable with being so civil with Eric.

Eric shook his head. "No. Pam will be coming with me tomorrow evening. Sophie-Anne would be there as well.

"There will be no harm in me going." Bill said. Sookie looked at him doubtfully.

"Bill, what if they hold you accountable too?"

"They will not. I was acting under my Sheriff's command. Naturally, all the blame would go to him."

Sookie leaned back in her chair and folded her arms.

"If you wish to make the trip, Bill, I won't object any longer." Eric said after a short moment.

Bill nodded once and that was that.

"What are you going to tell them?" I asked hesitantly after a short silence had fell over the room.

"The truth. Nan paid shifters to kidnap a human that was mine." I paled at him calling me 'his', but he didn't seem to notice. "And when I went to reclaim what was mine, she threatened to harm my progeny and tried to blackmail me. I was well in my rights for what I'd done."

I looked down at my hands and I shrugged. "You should mention Tiffany as well. That may help your case with her being someone from an obviously wealthy background."

Bill nodded from beside me. "That's actually a good idea. The AVL and the authority are really big on appearances. If some rich people made it known that their daughter was kidnapped by a vampire – a spokeswoman for the AVL at that – they'd suffer."

"Duly note." Eric said as he sat down in one of the chairs. "Speaking of Tiffany, what was the little argument earlier about?"

"She's lying about who she is and who her parents are." I said. "Bill tried to get some information and she stormed off."

"I can hear her pacing upstairs." Eric said as he closed his eyes for a slight moment.

"I can't help but feel like I've seen her somewhere before. I will find out." Bill said with determination coating his voice. "It's important that we know."

Eric nodded absentmindedly as he glanced around the house. He seemed lost in thought and without any other input from him, the conversation drifted off to silence again.

"Well," I said suddenly, causing everyone to look at me. "I'm going finish cleaning up. I can't sit around like this any longer. I feel gross."

"Yeah," Sookie said as she turned to Bill. "Maybe Tiffany can give us some robes or something while we wash these clothes. I don't feel right lounging around with dirt and blood all over me."

Eric laughed.

"What?" Sookie asked as she got up.

"Considering the circumstances," Eric said before he looked down at his phone and started typing. "A little blood and dirt would be the last of my worries. Women."

"Well, I have other worries," Sookie said with an annoyed tone. "But I can't do much about any of them right now so I'll focus on this one."

She turned to leave while Eric chuckled louder. His phone rang soon after and he left the room wordlessly. I took that opportunity to get up and follow Sookie down the hall and up the stairs.

* * *

Tiffany didn't want to give Sookie anything, but she relented when I'd asked. She had given both Sookie and I robes and we immediately went off to wash our clothes as soon as we were out of them. While Sookie was off somewhere talking to Bill, I had taken first dibs on the shower. I didn't stay long. I only washed what was necessary and hopped out. I hated being in other people's showers. No matter how clean it was or how relaxing it could have been. It's been a little problem of mine since I was little.

It was about 1am when our clothes were finally washed and completely dried and I put my outfit back on as quickly as I could. I didn't feel comfortable walking around in front of Bill with just a robe on. Eric was outside on the phone like he had been for the past hour and Tiffany was in the bathroom now. I'd left and gone upstairs to one of the guest bedrooms when Sookie and Bill seemed like they needed privacy. They started whispering while they were leaned in close to each other. By the tone of their voices, I could tell that they were having a disagreement of some kind, but it also private and intimate.

This house had about 5 bedrooms. I picked one on the third floor all the way at the end of a hallway so I could feel a bit secluded. It happened to have a balcony that had a fantastic view of New Orleans. I couldn't enjoy it, though. I was worrying about Eric. He'd said that it was a small chance of him meeting the 'true death', but he said nothing of torture. A quick picture of him getting his fangs ripped out flashed through my mind and I shuddered. I wanted the idea to get out of my head, but the more I tried not to think about it, the more I did.

There was a firm knock on the door and I hesitantly backed away from the balcony to wander back inside and answer the door. I opened it and I was a bit surprised to see Eric standing there.

"May I?" he asked as he nodded his head towards the room.

"I would expect you to just let yourself right in like you seem to always do." I said as I stepped aside to let him in. Eric shrugged, but he said nothing.

I walked back over to the iron balcony railing and stared back out into the night. A while later, I felt Eric brush against me as he mimicked the posture I was in. We stood in comfortable silence for a short while, just staring out into the city. A question that had never occurred to me to ask started nagging at my brain. I turned to Eric and looked at him until he met my eyes with his.

"What was your life like before you were turned?" I asked as I began toying with my hair.

He turned away from me and resumed looking out at the city. "Most vampires don't like to talk about their lives before they were turned."

"Sorry." I said abruptly as I looked away. I didn't want too upset him.

"I can tell you that I was a Viking." He said after a moment.

"A Viking?" I asked incredulously. "My history teacher would love to meet you."

He grinned. "Really now?"

"Mmhm," I said as I turned to look at him again. "He was a total geek for Vikings. He used to go on and on about them. He said the most memorable thing about Vikings was their love for battle and their barbaric nature. I'd tune him out when he got into one of those lectures. He'd probably pee himself if he ever got a hold of you."

Eric let out a small chuckle and it caused a smile to tug at my lips.

"Who turned you?" I asked when the previous moment had passed. Eric's face went emotionless again, but he didn't turn away from me.

"My maker was Godric." He said after a small pause of hesitation.

Though his face neutral, something in his eyes seemed despondent.

"He was? What happened to him?" I asked quietly.

"Suicide. He exposed himself to the sun."

"I'm sorry." I said quietly as I cover his hand with mine.

He didn't respond, but he didn't pull away from me either, so that was alright.

I wanted to say something cheesy like 'It's ok if you want to cry' or 'he's in a better place', but I knew very well that those were terrible and cliché and I scolded myself mentally for even thinking it.

Instead of saying anything at all, I lifted his cold hand to my lips and kissed it. That definitely shocked him, though his taken aback expression only lasted a few moments. He twisted his hand until he was able to grasp mine in his before he tugged me closer to him. I leaned up and kissed him this time. Another move that probably surprised him again, but I couldn't see his expression to know for sure.

We kissed for a while. It was languid, hot and, most importantly, uninterrupted. It wasn't soon before he pulled back and trailed along my jaw.

"I want nothing more than to go to bed with you right now." He said gruffly. His words sent a shiver down my spine and I was nodding my consent before I even stopped to ask myself if this was a good idea.

He backed off for a while and his fangs were out in split second. He smiled at me and moved closer while I edged backwards. Through the door and past the threshold I went before I was stumbling down onto the bed. He was leering at me the same way he did downstairs in the bathroom and the day before in the hotel room. I backed up against the headboard, both excited in every possible way and aghast at the pure hunger in his eyes and how fast it had switched on. He brought one knee up to the bed as he started to pull off his leather jacket. He dropped it somewhere on the ground and soon, his black racerback joined it.

God, his torso looked like it was a mile long. That was barely an exaggeration, but it was definitely an accurate figure of speech. He smiled when he'd caught me staring at him and I felt my cheeks heat up. He didn't seem to mind my staring, though.

He reached for me and I went willingly. He pulled me up on my knees and kissed my neck while his hands tugged the hem of my top up and off me. He stared at me the whole time. His eyes never blinked and that small grin on his face never faltered. In fact, as he reached around me to unhook my bra, it widened. I fought the urge to cover myself when he dropped his eyes from my face to look at what he'd just unwrapped. I tried to think of something to do with my hands, but nothing came to me.

Eric leaned forward to whisper in my ear, "Relax."

I nodded and let him lay me back against the pillows of the perfectly made bed. He leaned down to kiss me again, his arousal definitely letting itself be known with every move he made. He pulled back and I tried to breathe steadily as his hands reached down to unbutton my jeans. I rose up to balance on my elbows as he started to tug it down along with my underwear, past my hips and finally, off completely.

He was staring again and it was even more unnerving now that I was completely naked. My arousal/shame combo only seemed to amuse and excite him. At least he wasn't making fun of me for being the stereotypical blushing virgin.

He moved backwards off the bed and a tiny flash of fear jolted through me when he started off towards the bed. I though he was going to repeat the hotel scene again.

"Eric? What are you—?"

"I'm locking the door. We don't want any interruptions, do we?" He twisted a tiny lock and I relaxed as best as I could. With a flick on his hand on the wall, the room's light was suddenly off. The only light in the room were the distant city lights pouring in from the open balcony doors and a tiny nightlight at the side of the bed.

Eric was at the foot of the bed in an instant. His hands were tugging at his belt and his jeans button. After a few seconds, he pulled off his jeans and his underwear (for some reason I was expecting him to wear no underwear at all) and I averted my eyes immediately. I felt childish. I mentally chided myself and I turned to stare at him in his eyes as he smiled and leaned down to grip one of my legs. He keeled up on the bed as he kissed the inside of my ankle. I shivered.

He continued to trail kisses up my leg until he reached my inner thigh. There, he paused and mumbled against my skin, "Your heartbeat has increased. Is it from arousal or fear?"

"You should know," I said quietly while I watched him with heavy lidded eyes. "You always know what I'm feeling, right?"

He smiled, baring his fangs in the process. "Not always, but I know now. I can feel what you're feeling. You feel good. I want to make you feel better."

He kissed a spot on my inner thigh before he sank his fangs in and drank. I fell back against the bed. Despite the initial sting of the fangs, being bitten by Eric right now felt like the best thing in the world. I momentarily forgot about my embarrassment as his large hand started to caress my thigh. From his occasional drawned out groans, I was positive that he liked this as much as I did. Maybe even more.

When he was done, he pulled back and licked his lips. He slithered up my body and I think I almost jumped when he pressed his erection against my thigh.

"Are you sure you want this?" He asked as he bit my neck lightly enough to not draw blood again. "Let me know now because once I start, I don't think I will be able to stop."

I pushed my body against his and it caused his hips to jerk in response. "I'm sure."

He caught my lips and coaxed me into another kiss while he settled between my legs. After a few seconds his hand drifted south and I felt his fingers brush my skin before he started guiding himself inside me and the pain came out of nowhere.

I'm not a complete idiot. I knew that losing your virginity hurt, but he wasn't exactly small (or even medium sized) and I wasn't expecting it to hurt that bad. I didn't want to stop, though. Not by a long shot.

My hands flew up to grip his shoulders and I screwed my eyes shut and let out small pained gasps as he pushed the rest of the way in. He leaned down to whisper something in my ear, but I was too hazy to understand what he was saying. He brought his hand up to stroke my head.

"Open your eyes for me." He said quietly.

I opened my eyes slowly to stare up at him. Tears had formed in my eyes so my vision of him was hazy, but I could still read the pure lust on his face and the want in his eyes.

He drew his hips back while his eyes stayed fixed on mine and he thrust into me again. He did it again after that and this one managed to draw a small moan out of me.

"Yes." He said as he grinned at me. "That's it."

He leaned back and started thrusting in slowly at first, in and out, long and deep and the pain I felt started to melt into a dull pleasant throbbing. My hands tightened on his shoulder and he growled as if he was spurred on by the pain. I had no idea why that excited me so much.

His hands seemed to be everywhere as he continued to thrust. His hips were gaining a little more momentum as one of his hands caught my trembling thigh and pulled it up and further apart. He seemed to sink impossibly deeper into me and there was a jolt of sudden indescribable pleasure as he grounded his hip against mine.

"Jesus, Eric." I panted as he repeated the motion again, a little rougher this time.

He lowered his mouth onto my lips and kissed me roughly. He muffled all of my groans and wanton curses as the gentleness faded away and was replaced by quickened snaps of his hips. When he pulled back, I reached up and grabbed the back of his head.

"Bite me again." I said in between sharp, quick breaths.

He didn't hesitate. He lowered his mouth to my neck and sank his fangs in. His hips faltered a little and I pushed up against him when he took his first swallow. I felt my whole body begin to tense up as he continued to drink from me.

He pulled back suddenly to look at me and a lazy knowing smile played on his blood stained lips. His paced quickened as he leaned down to kiss me again quick and chaste on my lips. I raised my arms to wrap them around his neck and he leaned down in whisper my ear.

"You don't know how good you feel, Adrianne. How good you taste." He said in a low whisper. "And you're mine. All mine."

His hips moved faster and harder as he stared down at me with blazed eyes. His thrusts were driving me insane. I felt sore but I couldn't bring myself to care as I started to feel my orgasm start at the base of my spine. I had a sudden impulse to cover my face, but Eric was one step ahead of me. He grabbed my hands and pinned them back against the mattress.

"Come for me. I want to see it."

And that was it. I tensed up and barely registered the loud and most likely embarrassing noises I made as my orgasm rushed over me. I wanted to grab something, anything, but Eric's hands were still pinning me down to the bed. I felt like I was riding on a never ending wave of a pleasure and it was so great, I could hardly stand it. Eric swiveled his hips, intending to draw everything out.

When I thought that it would never stop, I finally felt by body going back to normal. My heart was hammering in my chest and I opened my eyes slowly to stare up into Eric's eyes. I forced myself to hold back my impending tears and to not paint the virgin cliché. Eric was staring down at me with an odd expression on his face. He removed his hand from my wrist and brushed some of the hair that had fallen across my face. He muttered something in another language and before I could ask him what he'd said, he started to thrust into me again. He leaned down and buried his face in my neck. I reached up and touched his cool back before snaking my hand into his hair. Before long, his hips stuttered and he groaned. I felt him jerk and shiver inside me before he paused for a heartbeat and finally relaxed. He bent down to catch my lips again. The kiss was lazy and sluggish and his hips were still moving a little and I jumped and shivered with the aftershocks.

He rolled off of me slowly and pulled my sated body with him until he was flat against the bed and I was partially on top of him. We lay in complete silence for a while. The late spring breeze swept in from outside and cooled my heated body. I felt hot and sweaty and in contrast, Eric's skin was cool. My heart was racing and he wasn't even breathing. That should have bothered me, but it didn't. Not one bit.

I felt sore all over and I was sure that I'd have bruises in the morning. Thinking of the morning made my stomach ache. I was slowly going back to worrying. It was ridiculous to think of unfortunate future events when I was currently lying in bed with the most attractive person I'd ever seen and we'd just done something so amazing.

Eric turned to his side to look at me. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore." I said as I turned to face him. "But I also feel good. Really good."

He grinned and pulled me closer against him. "Sex with vampires isn't exactly gentle."

"I figured that much, but I don't regret it. I actually really liked it."

"Oh!" He said as he gave me a sly look. "You like roughness? I'll keep that in mind for next time."

Next time. I wouldn't mind a next time.

"_If there was going to be a next time," _An annoying voice in the back of my head whispered.

I moved closer to Eric. He pulled me in until I was flush against his hard chest. "I'm not much of a cuddler, but I'm willing to make an exception."

I believed him. He didn't look like the cuddle after sex type, but he pulled me close. His hand found itself to my neck and he began to brush his thumb against the spot where he'd bitten. This was nice, but I was beginning to feel exhausted and sleepy. I yawned.

"Are you tired?" He asked. I could feel his voice rumbling in his chest.

"No." I lied. I didn't want to go to sleep. What if he wasn't here in the morning? What if this was the last time I was going to see him?

"Go to sleep." He said after a moment.

I wanted to disobey. I really did. But sleep was pulling me in and with Eric arms wrapped so tightly and securely around me, I really had no choice.

I barely noticed when he'd muttered something foreign in my hair and I definitely didn't notice when he'd left a while later. By then, I was already off in dreamland.

* * *

**_A/N_**

_**Janna **- Though I appreciate you correcting my grammar and word usage (because that's what I asked for in the first place after all), I don't think you should use the word 'illiterate' if you don't know what it means. When someone is illiterate or seems illiterate, it means that they're ignorant and can't read or write. If I was illiterate (or seemed illiterate) I wouldn't have written anything correctly at all. __I don't think anyone (besides you, maybe) would think someone is illiterate just because they used 'mines' instead of 'mine'. ;) _

_**Everyone else** - thanks as usual for all the support. Sorry updates have been slow. I'm quite busy, but I do try to write and post these as quickly as I can so I don't keep anyone waiting too long. _


	12. Acrimony

**Chapter 12 - Acrimony**

_Warnings for this chapte_r: _bad language_

* * *

I woke up with a start. I'm not sure what woke me up exactly, but it left me panting and alert. My hand immediately flew out to the other side of the bed and my hand connected with nothing but cold sheets.

Though the blinds were drawn, I could see that it was bright outside. I felt oddly cold, extremely tired and alone. There was no point in going back to sleep, though. My arms and legs ached, but it didn't bother me much. It reminded me of last night. I groggily dragged myself out of bed and immediately spotted my neatly folded clothes on the bedside table. I felt a smile tug on my lips as I imaged Eric folding clothes. I chased the thought away after a few seconds. Maybe right now was not a good time to be reminiscing.

I crossed the room and gathered them into my hands before I went and poked my head out into the hallway. After I was sure the coast was completely clear, I rushed out into the hallway and down to the bathroom.

I took a shower as quickly as I could and changed back into my clothes. I searched around in the endless rows of medicine cabinets until I found a stack of tooth brushes in the bathroom. I opened one of them up and brushed my teeth while hoping that whoever took care of this place didn't notice that one of the toothbrushes was missing.

After taking a few minutes to fix my unruly hair and checking out the bruises I acquired from last night, I made my way downstairs to meet up with Sookie.

* * *

Downstairs, I could hear Sookie talking on the phone from the kitchen. She sounded tired and I doubted that she slept at all last night. When she noticed me coming, she gave me an odd look, but quickly covered it up with a quick wave.

"Alright, that's fine. See you when I get back. Bye." She hung up the phone and sighed. "That was Sam. I told him that we'd be coming home later. He asked to speak to you, but you were sleeping when I first called."

"Oh." I said as I sat down at the table. "Where are Bill and Eric?"

"Eric left a little while after he said you'd gone to bed." Sookie said as she turned her back to me to fiddle with something on the kitchen counter. "Bill's in the basement. Eric gave him instructions on where to meet him tonight. He said he had things to do. He discussed it with Bill, but not me."

Something was off with Sookie. She was avoiding eye contact and fixing stuff that didn't need fixing.

"Sookie, are you alright?" I asked.

"Just fine!" Sookie said as she turned to give me a big fake smile. It was the ones she gave the customers at Merlotte's when she'd read something unpleasant in their heads. "Jason's coming to get us. I would have asked Sam but he seemed so busy today. He told me Arlene and the new waitress called out at the last minute. I wish I was back home so I could lend a hand. Anyway, Jason left about 2 hours ago. He should be here in a little under an hour if he isn't held up by traffic."

I nodded slowly and decided to temporary ignore Sookie's odd behavior when a thought struck me. "What are we going to do about Tiffany?"

Sookie looked sheepish. "She's glamored in the basement."

"What?" I asked as I stood up. "Why?"

"Just before dawn, Bill was able to drag out of her that she is the daughter of the Reverend at the Shreveport Fellowship church." Sookie said with a look of disgust.

I stared at her blankly. "What? I didn't see her when my parents first started to go to the church."

"Her father sent her away to boarding school in New York because he was afraid her behavior would jeopardize his status among likeminded vampire haters. She really liked vampires." Sookie said as she turned to stare at me. "Really, really liked vampires."

She paused so she could make sure I understood what she meant.

"Oh. Wow." I said quietly as I tried to imagine Tiffany dressed up in fangbanger gear.

"But," Sookie continued, "Sending her to New York was a terrible idea since it's buzzing with the undead. She was misbehaving there as well so he brought her back about a month ago. Now here's where things get messy: Tiffany met up with some kids from Shreveport who were fangbangers and most likely didn't know that she was way underage. They went out to local vampire hotspots and somehow, they got a vampire to bite her. When her father saw the bite mark, she lied and said that some Shreveport vampires bit her against her will."

I gasped as everything clicked into place. "So that's why he burned down Fangtasia? All of this was her fault."

Sookie nodded once and her lips thinned. She looked like she was trying to hold in rage. I was definitely starting to feel my anger building up before it hit me like a freight train. I wanted nothing more than to go down there and do so many awful things. The idea of it surprised me. I'd never been a violent person but this was a goddamn good exception.

There was no point in doing any of that now. Bill probably glamored her to a pulp. Who knows what she remembers.

"Does Eric know?" I asked through clenched teeth.

"No. He left before Bill started speaking to her." She looked at me pointedly. "And he won't find out, do you understand? He'll kill her."

"Right now, I wouldn't really mind." I said before I caught myself. Sookie looked at me for a while before she continued speaking.

"Bill's going to glamor her again when he wakes up. She won't know that she was kidnapped by Nan and she won't know that we were here. He's going to leave her here when he goes to meet Eric. When the housekeeper comes, they will find her… if she doesn't snap out of it and wander off, that is."

Leaving her glamored in a house was not a good enough punishment for me. It was her fault that humans and vampires got killed and it was her fault that Eric was in a big pile of mess right now. I had to wring my hands to stop them from shaking.

"Do those hurt?" Sookie said suddenly as she gazed at my wrists. She was staring at the bruises Eric gave me last night and my anger subsided and gave way to a surge of embarrassment. I pulled my hand down to my lap.

"No. They feel fine. We'll they don't feel fine, but they don't hurt." I said as I attempted to smile. I'm sure I failed.

Sookie raised her eyebrows and, thankfully, dropped the subject immediately.

"So, what's to keep Tiffany from waking up and staking Bill down there?" I asked after a small uncomfortable silence.

"The basement's totally empty. There's nothing but concrete and dust down there." Sookie said with a small shrug. "And the basement door is locked from the outside, so she can't get out. She may have some vampire blood in her, but I doubt that she'd be able to open it no matter how hard she tries."

"Good." I said simply. I was too angry to say anything else.

* * *

It took Jason 2 extra hours to get to New Orleans because he got lost multiple times along the way. I wasn't surprised because Jason wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. Like every other girl my age, I used to have a big crush on Jason. Unlike them, however, my crush had faded away after he'd proved himself to be doltish time and time again. But Jason had his good looks, his bright smile, and his charms, so most girls overlooked his lack of brains.

Sookie didn't bother to scold him on being late. She pulled him into a tight hug as soon as he was close enough and promised that she'll explain everything on the way home. He hugged me next as Sookie turned back to go in the house. He looked me over when he pulled back.

"I felt like I aint seen you in ages!" Jason said excitedly. "You look a lot different."

"Maybe the lack of sleep and proper food are starting to have a negative effect on my appearance." I said as I started to make my way over his pick-up truck.

"I never said it was a bad different." Jason said as he smiled and opened the door for me.

Well, that brightened my crappy mood.

"Thank you, Jason." I said as I climbed into his truck. He grinned and closed the door before walked over to the passenger side and hopped in. Sookie came out of the house a short while later and hopped in beside me.

"Sorry I took so long." She said as she buckled her seatbelt. "I said goodbye to Bill. I'm not sure if he heard me, though. Tiffany's still ditz and staring off into nowhere. I'm beginning to wonder if she'll remember her own name when she comes to."

"Who's Tiffany?" Jason asked as he started the car. Sookie sighed.

She started to explain everything to him from the beginning as Jason pulled off. She paused only to let me fill in the parts of the story she wasn't there to witness. As Jason drove, I suspected that he wasn't picking up all of the information, but he listened intently and only asked a minimal amount of questions. When Sookie was done, his face was screwed up as if he was thinking over the details he'd just heard.

"So let me get this straight," Jason said as he frowned a little. "You all killed someone from the – what is it – the AVL? That blonde lady from TV?"

"We didn't kill her." I said patiently. "Eric killed her and he didn't really have a choice."

"So now he's in a lot of trouble with his boss?" Jason asked.

"Not his boss, really." Sookie said before I could. "His boss would be Queen Sophie-Anne. He's in trouble with the American Vampire League and "the authorities", whoever or whatever they are."

"Huh." Jason said quietly as he thought it over. "Well at least you guys are safe and on your way home. I bet you'll want to sleep for days."

"You have no idea." I said as I leaned my head back on the seat. I'd probably have trouble falling asleep, though.

"Hey, Adrianne," Jason said as he chanced a look at me. "I don't mean to upset you even more, but people been sayin' some things back home. You know how they like to talk."

I turned to look at him and so did Sookie.

"Like?" I asked.

"Well, I was down at the post office yesterday picking up my mail, right? And Mike Yeildman and Hannah Jones were talking about you." He paused for a short moment. "They were saying that you're a fangbanger now."

"Well that's not surprising." I said. I was bound to get the title sooner or later, whether it was true or not.

"Hoyt told me that Monica's been saying it, too. She said she didn't want to talk to you anymore if you ever came home."

Now, that hurt. Monica and I had been friends since I'd move to Bon Temps more than a decade ago. We've drifted slightly apart since we've graduated, but we still talked often.

"Are you sure she said those things?" I asked with a shaky voice.

"You know Hoyt wouldn't lie about something like that." Jason said quietly. "I shouldn't have said nothing, I'm sorry."

"You really shouldn't have." Sookie said as she reached out to touch my shoulder gently.

"No, I'm fine," I said reassuringly. "It's better I know now than to go home, attempt to talk to her, and make a fool out of myself."

Jason began to say something, but I interrupted him. "Anyone feel like listening to some music?"

Neither of them answered, they only looked at each other awkwardly.

I took that as a 'yes' and I flicked on the radio. We drove in almost complete silence after that.

* * *

I'd honestly never been happier to see Bon Temps in my life. A soon as I saw the big sign saying 'Welcome to Bon Temps' in front of the local hair salon, I let out a relieved breath I didn't even know I was holding in. I couldn't wait to climb into some comfy pajamas and be dead to the world for a few hours. No, a few _**days**_.

Jason drove us straight to Merlotte's upon Sookie's request. Sam was in the back waiting for us as we pulled up. Jason was out of truck first. He wasted no time jumping out of the front seat and stretching his legs.

Sam walked up to the truck and looked at Sookie and I as we got out. "Another adventure?" he asked as he took in our tired, slightly battered and disheveled appearance.

"If that's what you want to call it." I said with a shrug.

"I got questions," Sam said as he folded his arms. "But they can wait."

"Good, because I'm too tired to answer them." Sookie said.

"So, what's the plan now?" I asked as I turned to Sookie.

"Well, you can stay with me for the night. I'm definitely not going back to my house tonight since the door is probably busted. I'm going to Bill's house to keep an eye out for him until he gets home. I'm sure he won't mind if you stay with me."

I shook my head. "I think I'll stay with Sam, if that's alright with him."

"You know it's alright by me." Sam said quietly.

"Alright. There's nothing else we can do right now besides wait for some news. Hopefully they'll be good news." Sookie said.

"I'll fix that door tonight, Sook." Jason said from where he was standing by back entrance door.

"Thank you, Jason." Sookie said gratefully. "Hey, can I use your truck? I need to drop by Tara's."

Jason looked dubious, but finally he said, "Go ahead, but have it back within an hour. I have to meet up with my boss later.

"You can get a ride from Hoyt." Sookie said with a frown.

"We're not on good terms right now." Jason said as he looked away. "He aint speaking to me."

"Why not?" I asked.

"No specific reason." He said as he turned and walked through the back door, shutting it behind him.

Sookie's forehead creased, but she shrugged and turned to me. "You wanna come along for the ride?"

"No, I think I'll stay here." Tara and I didn't get along. We were civil to each other, but I'm pretty sure she liked me as much as I liked her… which was not very much.

I got along perfectly with Lafayette, however. I'd rather stay here at Merlotte's with him than with her.

"Alright. I'll be back in a bit." Sookie said as she turned to climb into Jason's truck. She started it, waved good bye, and pulled out of the parking lot.

When she was gone, I turned to walk into towards the door when Sam stopped me.

"I got somethin' for ya." He said as he dug into his pockets. He pulled out an envelope and handed it to me.

"What's this?" I asked as I started to open it.

"You mother dropped it off last night." He said quietly.

I paused and looked up at him.

"What?"

"She said your dad and her were going on a trip. She left you some money and a number just in case you wanted to reach her. Your dad didn't know she was coming, so she was really quick and vague about everything. She didn't give much detail."

I became vaguely aware that my hands began to shake. "They left town? Did they move?"

"No. I passed by the house this morning. I still saw furniture through the windows and one of the cars were parked in front. I guess they went on some sort of vacation?"

I opened the envelope and pulled out the contents in it. There was a check, a tiny piece of paper with a number on it and a key.

"Looks like she left you a key to the house too." Sam said as he looked down at the items in my hand.

I pushed the key and phone number in my pocket and opened the check to see how much it was.

"Four thousand dollars." I said numbly as I stared down at the piece of paper. I suddenly felt like laughing even though nothing was funny.

Sam didn't say anything at first, but he awkwardly put his hand on my shoulder. "She was torn up about everything when she came by. She wanted to see you, but you weren't here. I didn't know when or if you were coming back, so there wasn't much I could do to assure her you were alright."

I nodded as I placed the check back in the envelope. "Well, she chose to stick with Arthur and his craziness, so that isn't really my problem."

Sam sighed, "I think it may be a lot more complicated than that, Adrianne."

I stared at Sam for a while, contemplating a response, but nothing came to me.

I started to feel sorry for myself even though I hated to do so. Eric was gone, the people of Bon Temps thought I was a rouge fangbanger who puts her parents through misery and now my said parents were gone on a "vacation". Not to mention, I had no idea where I stood in the whole Nan mess. I wouldn't be surprised if the so-called 'authority' showed up and hauled me off somewhere to suffer the same fate Eric is probably going to get.

"You wanna talk?" Sam said, breaking me out of my thoughts suddenly.

"No, I just want to eat. Eat and sleep." I said as I walked towards the back door.

"Are you sure you want to go in there right now?" Sam asked as he looked at me quizzically. "You know how people are around here…"

"I don't care what they think or say. They're going to talk about me anyway. Why not give them the opportunity to do it in my face?"

I opened the door and walked in without looking back to see Sam's expression.

* * *

Lafayette wasn't in today, so Terry Bellefleur was the cook. Today was a good day for Terry. I could tell because he was relaxed and friendly. When he was having a bad day, you'd definitely know. I sat at the bar stool since less people tend to be at the bar in the afternoon than in the evening.

Of course, I was stared at and talked about. A few people came up to me and attempted a small chit chat, but I was in no mood to talk to anyone right now, so my answers were short and uncaring. Soon, they got the message and left me alone completely.

Around 3pm, the lunch crowd started to part. There were only about 15 people left in Merlotte's now, not including the waitresses, Sam, Terry and I.

Jason had left about an hour ago after Sookie called him on his cell phone to let him know that Tara had an emergency with her mother and needed to take her to the hospital. Jason got a ride from one of the girls he chatted up in record time. I would have found it funny if I wasn't in such a crap mood.

"Doing alright?" Sam asked while on his way from his back office.

"Could be better." I said as I watched him set up the bar.

Just then, someone tapped my shoulder and I turned around to see who it was.

Andre Jourdain, a guy I'd known for a few years now, was staring at me intently. I first met Andre when he and his family moved to Bon Temps a year ago. Jason had introduced him around town and I happened to be in the bar with Sookie when they'd walked in. He lives with his grandparents — two pure blood Cajuns who never let everyone forget about their ancestry — and his little sister Georgina.

"Hey, Adrianne," he greeted me with a smile as he sat next to me in the vacant bar stool. "How're you doin' today?"

"Just peachy." I said as I attempted to smile back.

"Been a rough couple of days?" He asked as he took of his hat and placed it on his knee.

"You can say that."

"Ah."

"What can I get you, Andre?" Sam asked as he stopped in front of him.

"Uh… just a beer, please. Corona." He turned to me. "You want anything?"

I smiled. "No. I already ate. Besides, everything's on the house for me today."

"Everything's on the house for you every day." Sam said as he turned to get Andre's beer from the cooler.

I grinned and turned back to Andre. "Thank you for asking, though."

"Ah, no problem."

Sam opened the beer and placed it in front of him. Andre nodded his thanks and handed him the money. He struck up a small conversation with me while he sipped his beer about little things like the weather and his boss's silly haircut. It was a mild conversation, but it was good. It temporarily took my mind off of the stares I was still receiving and, most importantly, Eric.

Andre carefully avoided asking me where I'd been and I was grateful for that. It seemed like he, Terry and Sam were the only ones I could tolerate at the moment.

The place started to full up again and along with the late-afternoon crowd came Mrs. Walters. I could feel my head reel when I saw her coming towards me.

Jean-Ann Walters was the nosiest bitch in Bon Temps. She knew everything about everyone and she loved to share everyone's personal stories with others. Why she had friends, I'd never know. She talks about all of them behind their backs. Now, she was making her way towards me with a fast pace and a small faux genuine smile on her smug face.

She stopped in front of Andre and I. She looked Andre up and down before greeting him curtly.

"Good afternoon, Andre."

Andre didn't look exactly happy to see her, but his grandparents raised him to have respect, so he returned her greeting.

She smiled at him tightly before turning to me and giving me a concerned look. "Adrianne, how are you, dear?"

"I'm fine." I said abruptly.

"You know," she said as she took a seat at the bar beside me, "I saw you on the television the other day."

"Of course you did." I said as I turned to look at her.

She cleared her throat and shifted in her seat. "Well, I know it might not be any of my business, but are you a part of some vampire entourage now?"

"You're right, Mrs. Walters," I said with a small sugary smile.

She looked interested and leaned closer as if she was expecting awesome news. "About what? The vampire entourage?"

"No," I said politely. "You were right about it being none of your business."

She pulled back so fast that she may have gotten whiplash. She stared at me as if I'd just grown two heads. I'd never been rude to Mrs. Walters before, or to anyone for that matter. But today, I had no tolerance for her prying.

"No need to be nasty." She said as she got up proudly and walked away. Of course she had to have the last word, however. When she was a couple feet away me from me and was sure she had an audience, she turned around and fixed her cold gaze on mine.

"With a child as rude and sinful as you are, I aint surprised your parents left town. I'd want to leave too, if my kids ever turned out like you."

Andre hopped to my defense, immediately silencing Mrs. Walters with a few words of his own. It only stopped her for a while before she turned to look back at me and frowned.

"I was just trying to be nice since she practically has no parents now," She said before she looked back to me. "Excuse me for lending out a hand, you ungrateful brat."

Her voice was like nails on a chalkboard. People were starting to stare again and I felt the anger well up in me like a balloon getting ready to pop.

"Fuck you." I said hastily before I could stop myself. The dark tone in my voice sounded foreign to my ears. It was dark and snarly and full of hatred.

Andre turned around to stare at me with a shocked expression on his face.

"Excuse me?" Mrs. Walters said after she sputtered stupidly for a few seconds.

"Fuck you." I repeated with more vigor as I stood up. The whole bar was quiet now. The only thing making a sound in the room was the jukebox. "I'm tired of you sticking your nose in my business and I'm tired of you insulting me! You have no idea what I've been through in the last couple of days so you damn sure don't have any right to judge me! I have been nothing but respectful to you even though I know what a terrible and shallow person you are, so I think deserve a little respect back. Right now, all I want for you to do is back off and shut the fuck up!"

I turned to face the rest of the bar. I could see Sam emerging from his office to see what all the commotion was about.

"And that goes for the rest of you, too! You all have been staring at me and talking about me the entire time I was here. Yes, I was with vampires, and no, I wasn't having sex with them. Not that it would be any of your damn businesses!"

I halted my ranting almost as abruptly as I started it. Everyone was staring at me like I'd gone insane, but they all had the courtesy to look embarrassed about being called out.

Sam's hand brushed my shoulder and I shrugged him off and walked out of Merlotte's as quickly as I could. I paused at the edge of the parking lot, not wanting to go any further by myself. Who knew what was out there looking at me right now.

"Hey," A voice said behind me. I turned and saw Andre jogging over to where I was standing. He stopped in front of me with a concerned expression on his face. "Forget them."

"I wish I could." I said.

"You're shaking." He said as he looked down at me.

I looked down at my hands and noticed he was right—I was shaking.

"I don't think I've ever felt such a negative concoction of emotions before." I said quietly before I looked up at him. "Anger, hatred, sadness, fear, rejection… It's all rolled up into one right now."

"And you said you were fine when I asked you earlier." Andre said without a trace of humor in his voice.

"I said that to everybody."

"That's probably why you exploded. You kept everything in and let it build up, see?" He watched me intently for a while before he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around me. I stood still for a whole minute, but he never backed off. The next thing I knew, I was crying.

* * *

The next morning, I felt a lot better. You usually sleep like a baby after you'd spent hours crying like one. Last night, Andre stayed with me until Sam had closed Merlotte's and came home. After Andre left, I took a bath, washed my hair and forced myself to eat some of the food Sam cooked. It tasted like heaven, but my appetite was long gone.

In the morning, I was awakened by the phone ringing. I grudgingly reached for the phone by the bed and picked up before the machine did.

"'Ello?" I mumbled into the receiver.

"Hey, Adrianne. It's Sookie. You're still asleep?" Sookie bright voice said from the other end. Sookie was definitely a morning person even though she usually doesn't have to work until late in the afternoon.

"I'm up now. What's up?"

"Bill came home this morning at about 5am." She said happily. "He's a little burned from the sunrise, but he's alive. Well, as alive as a vampire can get."

I shot out of bed so quickly that my head span. "What about Eric? Is he alright?"

"Bill didn't have much energy to get into detail, but he told me that Eric would not get the true death." She said listlessly. "But he told me that he would be punished. He didn't tell me what the punishment was, though. He had to go to ground."

I was silent.

Punishment. Eric had to get punished.

For humans, the only other punishment besides the death penalty was jail or prison time…. or a fine. Maybe Eric had to pay a fine? Hopefully.

"Okay," I said slowly. "Will you call me as soon as Bill wakes up?"

"Of course I will." Sookie said quietly. "You want some company? I'm sorry about leaving you at Merlotte's yesterday. Tara's mother drank herself into a stupor and fell down a flight of stairs. She's not doing well right now."

"It's fine." I said after a minute. I didn't really like Lettie Mae, so I found it hard to feel sorry for her. I did feel sorry for Tara, though, despite our differences.

"Sam told me about your parents and what happened in Merlotte's last night." Sookie said with a tone of sympathy. "I would say 'I'm sorry for you', but I know how much your hate that."

"I'm fine now." I said. I didn't know if it was a lie or not. I felt a lot better this morning. Like I got a big weight off my chest, but I was still thinking about Eric a lot. I didn't know whether I should be ashamed because I was thinking about him more than my parents. "I'll be alright."

"Ok," Sookie said doubtfully. "If you want me to come over, just call. I'll be home all day today."

"Sounds good. Talk to you later."

"Bye."

I hung up the phone and rolled out of bed. The clock on the wall read 9:30. I wanted to get up, take a shower and get something to eat. I'd probably lounge around all day today. I felt drained and I didn't want to do anything.

* * *

After I cleaned up and changed my clothes, I wandered out into Sam's little living room/dining room. There was a note on the table that read:

'Breakfast in the microwave. Need to talk to you. Will be home around lunch time – Sam.'

I dropped the note back on the table and went over to the microwave. There was a big plate filled with pancakes, eggs and sausages and I reheated it before I dug in. After I ate, I settled on the couch and watched daytime TV for the rest of the morning.

Around 12:15, Sam came by, just like he said he would.

"Hey, Adri. How'd you sleep?" He asked as he cracked open a beer and sat beside me on the couch.

"Good." I said with a smile. "You wanted to talk to me about something?"

"Yeah." He said after a large sip. "I don't have a problem with you staying here, you know that."

I nodded.

"That being said, I think you should move into a place of your own. I got some rental property not too far from here. You can stay in the one next to Arlene and Terry, if you want."

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't shocked. "Wow, Sam. Thanks! I'd pay rent—"

"No, no." Sam interrupting me, "It's fine."

"I'm not going to freeload." I said defiantly. "I'll get a job. I can work at Merlotte's. I'm 18 now. I can serve alcohol."

"That's actually a good idea." Sam said with a small grin. "Alright. If you're up to it, you can move in today and start work tomorrow. It's on 45 North Bend Street."

I leaped up and hugged him. "THANK YOU, SAM!"

Sam chuckled and hugged me back awkwardly. "Alright, alright. That's enough of that."

I pulled back watched him with a big smile.

"The place is furnished. All you'll need are some dinnerware, utensils, sheets and food."

"I think I'll go get it right now!" I said excitedly. "It'll give me something to do."

Sam smiled. "No one's stopping ya and you've got the money." He dug into his pockets and handed me two keys. "Here is the key to the place and the key to my pick up. I'll come by later to pick it up."

I looked at the key to my very own place and I felt a rush of happiness. "Thanks again, Sam. You've really helped me out."

"It's no problem. I can send Terry by to install an alarm system, if you want. I know you'd probably want it.

"That's… perfect." I said quietly. "I think this is the most happiness I've felt in days."

"I'm glad I could provide it."

I smiled again and rushed off to the bedroom to brush my hair, change into some jeans, grab my handbag and put on my flats. When I went back out into the living room, Andre was waiting with Sam.

"Hey!" He said as soon as I walked into view. "I stopped by to see how you were doing."

"Thank you, Andre." I said with a bright smile. "I was actually on my way out…"

"Oh. Well, I'll just head over to Merlotte's and see what the guys are up to."

"Actually," Sam said as he looked at both of us. "Andre, why don't you go with Adrianne? She's going to do a little shopping for her new place."

"Oh! You got a new place?" Andre asked.

"Yeah, thanks to Sam. You can come along with me, if you want."

"Sure!" He said with a small grin. "I aint got nothin' else to do."

"Great!" I picked up the keys to the truck and the house. "I'll see ya later, Sam."

I walked out the door with Andre trailing behind me after he'd said his goodbyes to Sam.

We hopped into the truck and drove down the dusty road in mild conversation.

* * *

Andre and I visited several shops. He helped me pick out things I would need and things I wouldn't. I ended up spending more money than necessary. I didn't want to hang on to the money my mom left for me for too long anyway.

When we stopped at the minimart, something compelled me to buy a few cases of TruBlood. Andre looked at me oddly, but didn't say anything. I don't know why I thought I'd need it, but I had a feeling it'll come in handy.

I bought clothes, microwavable food, toiletries, dishes, utensils, two bed sets, a cheesy 70s kung-fu movie and an even cheesier romance novel. By the time 6pm rolled around, Andre and I were tired of walking and were ready to retire for the evening.

Andre drove back with me to my new place to help me unload the bags.

When I first stepped into the house, I immediately felt like I was home. The place was dark and hot, but I didn't care. I felt a swell of pride at having my own place.

I collapsed on the couch in the living room after I checked out all the other rooms in the small 1 bedroom house. Andre cracked open a beer and put on the cheesy 70s movie that was so bad that it was actually good and entertaining.

I called Sam about half way through the movie to let him know that I liked everything and to thank him again. He was busy at Merlotte's so we didn't talk long.

At about 8:30, I was in the kitchen getting something to drink when the doorbell rang. I asked Andre if he could get it because I was expecting it to be Sam coming for his truck. The light feminine voice that floated throughout the house when Andre answered the door definitely didn't belong to Sam.

"Uh, Adrianne," Andre called out from the living room. "Can you come in here, please?"

I dropped what I was doing and rushed into the living room. I came face to face with a confused Andre and an annoyed Pam.

"You gonna invite me in?" Pam drawled from the doorway.

"Of course," I said quickly. "Come in!"

Pam stepped past Andre and strolled into the house. An older man who looked to be almost 60 walked in after her. Both of them looked around the place with slight distaste.

Today Pam was wearing a frilly caramel blouse and a black pencil skirt with brown heels. The heels clacked on the wooden floors are she strolled around the living room. She took her time examining everything her eyes came in contact with – especially Andre.

She looked him up and down before she turned to look at me. "It didn't take you long."

I stared at her blankly before I caught onto what she was saying.

"No!" I said as I looked from her to Andre. "Pam, this is Andre. He's a good friend of mine."

I put extra emphasis on friend. "Andre, this is my… acquaintance, Pam."

Andre smiled brightly and extended his hand to her. "Good to meet ya."

She looked at his hand with mild humor. "Mhm."

Andre pulled back his hand quickly and looked at me for direction on what to do.

"Um, Andre," I said quickly. "Pam and I have some stuff to talk about. Can we have a little privacy for a while?"

"Sure," Andre said as if he was ready and willing to get the heck out. Then he pause, "You aint in trouble, are you?"

I think Pam actually laughed to herself.

"No, I'm fine. I'll give you a call when we're finished."

"Alright." Andre said simply. "See ya."

Andre left after offering to take Sam's pickup to Merlotte's. On his way out, he avoided Pam as much as possible. She watched him leave with faint interest. When he pulled out of my little driveway, Pam sat down on the couch and gestured to the man she brought along.

"Adrianne this is Mark Dorothy."

Mark extended his hand and I took it politely. It was warm, so he definitely wasn't a vampire. Though, if you saw him from afar, it was hard to tell. He was pale as death and I hadn't seen him take a breath yet.

"Hello, Miss Oliver. I'm Mr. Northman's lawyer."

"I wasn't expecting Eric to have a human lawyer." I said a little surprised.

"His accountant is s human, I am not." Mark said with a certain gleam in his eyes that made me feel uncomfortable.

"What exactly are you?" I said as I took my hand back as gently as I could.

Mark opened his mouth to answer, but Pam cut him off. "That's something for another day."

I nodded, but I was still extremely curious. "How is Eric?"

Pam's face was expressionless, but her voice was hard when she spoke. "He'll survive."

"Survive what?"

"His punishment." Pam said simply. Her tone suggested that that was the end of the conversation, but I didn't heed her warnings.

"What is his punishment exactly?"

Pam sighed, long and irritated. "I'm not here to discuss any of that with you. I'm here to do what Eric told me to do and that is to tell you that he'll be fine."

"When is he coming back?" I asked.

"A few days, a few weeks?" She said as she leaned forward in the chair. "A few months or a few years."

"Pam!" I said loudly, momentarily startling everyone including myself. "You're not really giving me much information!"

"Look!" Pam said as she got up and strode towards me faster than my human eyes could see. "I don't know much about what's going on. I was only permitted to speak with Eric for a minutes and that was with a room full of guards."

Her voice faltered for a slight moment, but she regained her composure as quickly as she lost it. "I am not even allowed to see him when he goes on trial."

"He has to go by himself?" I asked after a slight pause.

"The Queen will accompany him. She and Eric has negotiated privately with the AVL to make sure his life would not be in danger, but they cannot talk them out of seeking repercussions or issuing their own punishment if we don't want the authority to get involved… which we don't."

I wanted to ask more questions, learn more facts, and be more assured, but Pam's face had gone oddly grim and I couldn't bring myself to do it. I turned to Mark instead.

"So what's your part in all of this?"

He grinned slightly and shook his head. "I don't get involved in vampire politics, dear."

"We were on our way to visit Eric's accountant to start discussing the rebuild of Fangtasia," Pam said as checked her gold wrist watch. She looked up at me and shrugged, "The show must go on."

"Right," I said dubiously, and then I remembered my manners. "You want something to drink? I brought some TruBlood today…"

"No. We should be on our way. We have lots of work to do and it'll most likely take us all night. The sooner we start the meeting, the better."

Pam walked towards the door and Mark did a gentlemanly thing for her by opening it. Pam smiled and walked out and he followed behind her. I paused at the door and watched them get into an expensive, sleek black car. Next door, Arlene and Terry were out on their porch, staring.

I waved at them and Terry waved back. Arlene didn't.

Pam gave me a small wave before Mark drove them off. After they left I turned back to Arlene and Terry who were still on their porch, pretending not to look. I smiled at Terry and he returned the kindness before he informed me that he'd be over tomorrow to install the alarm system. I thanked him and told him goodnight without paying Arlene and her nasty looks any mind.

When I went back inside, the house seemed strangely empty. I looked at the bags on the floor and decided I'd put everything away tomorrow in order to keep busy. Right now, all I wanted was another shower and some sleep. I suddenly felt exhausted.

Later that night, with Eric's predicament heavy on my mind, I found it hard to fall asleep. When I finally did, however, he plagued my dreams as well. I woke up sometime very early in the morning with my face red and my eyes watery. I gave up sleeping and got to work on compulsively cleaning _**everything**_.

* * *

_**A/N**_

**AlexJade** - Adrianne is all human and has no powers. I was originally going to make her part-**_something_**, but I changed my mind after the 3rd chapter.  
**AllyKat2108** - I'm glad I inspired you to finish your story! I'll take a look at it! :D  
**FearIsHowIFall **- thanks for your review. I'm glad you took the time to write it even though it was late. I'm also happy that you liked Eric and Adrianne's interaction. I didn't want it to make it seem like they were moving too fast with each other, so it was a relief to see you say that they were at a good pace.

Sorry to keep everyone waiting... again.  
Thanks to everyone who reviewed, as usual. And special thanks to the certain few who have been reviewing from the very beginning!


	13. Transition

**A/N**  
**Changed my name. It was ArielRewinds!**  
**Hey guys! Sorry I've been gone for such a long time. I got busy with school and real life and when I actually got time to write, I was at lost to which direction I wanted to take the story. I hope most of you are still interested! Also, sorry for any mistakes, I only proofread it once. I was too excited to hurry up and publish it. Also, sorry for my bad Swedish. I used Google translator.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 12 - Transition  
**

_Warnings for this chapte_r: _very little bad language_

_

* * *

_

I'd been cleaning all morning by the time Terry arrived. When I answered the door he stared at me with a confused expression on his face for a really, really long time before he broke out in an awkward smile.

"Working hard this early?"

"Yeah…" I said as I looked down at the cleaning items in my hand. I was in the middle of cleaning the bathroom. It didn't really need cleaning, but I was running out of stuff to do. "I might as well get the cleaning done and keep busy to take my mind off stuff. You know what that's like."

Terry nodded and bent to lift some of the tools he brought with him. "I got the alarm system Sam dropped off this morning. It's not hard to install and it won't take long."

"Oh, come in then so you can get started." I said as I stepped aside so he could come in. "Thanks again for offering to do this so quickly for me."

"No problem." He said as he placed everything down by the door and shut it. "I don't have to work until later and doing something is better than sitting around all day."

"I agree." I said as I walked over to the kitchen sink to wash my hands. "You want some to eat or drink before you get started?"

"No, I'm fine. I ate before I came by."

"Well, I'll get out of your way." I said as I shut the faucet off and walked back out into the living room. "I'm gonna go get cleaned up."

I caught a glimpse of Terry nodding as I walked over to the bedroom. I picked out some clothes (a band tee and some shorts) before I headed off to the bathroom to take a quick shower. When I was finished, I blow dried my hair with a dryer I had bought yesterday. I was starting to hate my hair more and more every day. It was really curly and got tangled very easily. I'd always wanted short hair, but my father always insisted that short hair was for boys. He wasn't here to enforce the rule any, though. I glanced down at a pair of scissors on the bathroom sink. Justas I was about to reach for it, there was a loud knock on the door that made me jump.

"Are you finished in there?" Terry's said in a strained voice. "I really gotta go! If you aren't I can just run home and—"

"No, no." I said as I opened the door and gave him an apologetic look. "Go ahead. I'm finished."

I stepped out of the way as he rushed in and shut the door behind him. With a grin on my face, I walked back out to the living room and collapsed one of the couches. My lack of sleep and my decision to overly clean everything left me feeling tired and drained. I would have laid right there and go sleep, but that would be rude since Terry wasn't done yet.

When Terry came back a few minutes later, he got back to work. He didn't seem to mind my presence around so I sat there silently until he was finished.

* * *

A short while after Terry was gone and my brand new alarm system was up and running, I was ready to crawl into bed and sleep for a long time. Just as I was about to enter the bedroom, there was a knock at the door. I sighed in frustration as I turned on my heels and walked towards the door. I glanced through the peek hole and caught a sight of Sookie's blonde hair and Tara's braided hair. They were both turned away from the door and looking off somewhere down the road.

Great.

I opened the door and they both turned to look at me.

"Hi!" Sookie greeted me. "We were on our way to Merlotte's and I thought I'd pass by. Can we come in?"

"Sure." I said with a small shrug before I stepped aside. I was so tired, but staying up a little longer wouldn't hurt. I stepped aside to let Sookie and Tara walk in.

"Morning, Tara." I said as she walked past me.

"Mornin'." She responded stiffly. I doubt she would have said anything if I didn't first. I grit my teeth and closed the door as soon as she was in.

"Sorry about dropping by without notice." Sookie said as she looked around. "I couldn't get in contact with you."

"Yeah, I gotta buy a phone as soon as possible. I'll probably get a cellphone later."

Sookie tilted her head. "What about… money?"

I smiled brightly. "Sam gave me a job!"

Sookie's eyes lit up. "Oh, that's great! "

Tara frowned. "What are you going to be doing? We have enough waitresses."

"I don't know, he wasn't specific. But there can never be too many waitresses at Merlotte's, right?"

Sookie nodded.

"Most of the people he hires usually have a bit of experience." Tara said sourly.

"I didn't have any experience when he hired me," Sookie said as she gave Tara a sharp look, "And besides, Adrianne knows what she's doing. She's been helping out since her junior year."

Tara raised an eyebrow.

"Tara, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that you didn't want me to work at Merlotte's." I said as I folded my arms and sat next to Sookie.

"Sorry, I'm a little on edge today. Congrats on the new job." Tara said with a forced smile. "Can I use your bathroom?"

I nodded. "Sure. It's down the hall."

Tara turned and walked down the hall as quickly as she could. When she was out of sight, Sookie sighed and turned to look at me apologetically.

"You'll have to excuse her behavior. Her mom's still in the hospital and she's not doing too good."

"Well I don't know where my mom is, but that doesn't mean I have to go around treating people like crap."

"Shh!" Sookie said quickly. "Look, you know how Tara is already…"

"Yeah, yeah." I said dismissively.

Sookie leaned back into the couch and changed the subject. "I hope you didn't mind me giving Pam your address. She said she had some important news for you."

"No it's ok. I'm actually glad you did. Though, I didn't really get any important news. Just a message."

"A message?"

"From Eric. He wanted her to tell me that he'll be fine, I guess." I said with a shrug.

"Oh. Any news on his… problem?" Sookie said as she leaned closer.

"You know as much as I do, which I'm assuming is nothing."

"Bill knows nothing, so I don't. If he does know something, he didn't tell me."

"I just hope he's alright." I said quietly.

Sookie was about to respond, but the bathroom door opened and Tara was coming out so the subject dropped.

* * *

Sookie and Tara stayed longer than I expected. Surprisingly, I didn't mind much. For a long time, Sookie talked about her broken door and trashed bedrooms from when the shifters broke in. She was mostly worried about how much it would cost to fix the door itself, get a band new frame and install an alarm system like I did.

The conversation drifted over to Tara's mother. I sympathized as much as I could. I imagined seeing my mother drunk every day and always having to be fearful of something bad happening her. Then, one day, it just happens. No matter how bad Tara's mother treats her, Tara is, and may always be, loyal to her.

"I kinda know how you feel, Tara." I said after she was done ranting. "I don't even know where my parents are or if they're alright. I'm more worried about my mother, though. I think she only stays with my dad because she's a firm believer in 'the sanctity of marriage'.

"Your parents just left a few days ago. My mother has been like this all my life. You have no idea what I feel like."

"Tara!" Sookie snapped.

"What? I'm just being honest!" Tara said.

I sighed. "I know you've been having a terrible week, but there's no need to be rude! I was just trying to let you know that you're not alone."

"I am alone!" Tara said as she stood up. "But that's nothing new!"

"I'm tired of you whining about how much your life sucks!" I said as I stood up to match her stance. "If you hate your life so much, try to make it better instead of going around and biting the hands that reach out to you."

"Ok, let's all calm down!" Sookie said as she tried to defuse the situation.

Tara ignored her. "You aint in no position to tell me what to do with my life!"

"You're right, I'm not. But you aren't in any position to be rude to someone who was just trying to help you! No wonder why no one likes you. You're a bitter prude!"

"Adrianne, that was uncalled for!" Sookie said at the same Tara yelled out "Bitch!".

"Get out!" I screamed at Tara as Sookie moved to stand between us.

"Fine!" Tara said as she turned and walked towards the door. On the way out, she slammed the door so hard that I swore the entire house rattled.

"You didn't have to be like that." Sookie said as she picked up her bag. "I told you she was going through a tough time."

"I'm going through a tough time. Hell, YOU'RE going through a tough time. We're not going around being complete bitches to each other."

"You just don't like Tara." Sookie said matter-of-factly.

"No, I don't, but at least I tried. She's had it out for me since day one."

Sookie rolled her eyes and turned to head for the door. "I'll call you if I hear anything else about Eric."

"Good. Thanks."

I stood by the doorway as Sookie got into her car with Tara in the passenger seat. I didn't wait until Sookie started up the car before I shut the door and went in my room to get some much needed sleep.

* * *

I woke up around 5 so I could start getting ready for my first day at Merlotte's. I had to be there at 6:30 and since I didn't have a ride, I had to walk. I didn't have my uniform yet, so after I took a shower, I changed into some black shorts and white t-shirt. It was just like the regular uniform. It just didn't have the Merlotte's logo. After doing my hair and checking my appearance in the mirror (looking decent gets you decent tips), I grabbed my bag, set the alarm system and headed out the door.

The walk to Merlotte's wasn't long. It wasn't exactly a stroll either. I knew a shortcut, but it was through a thick cluster of trees with only one house placed directly on a clearing. Damned if I was going that way with the memories of the last few days fresh in my mind. I was still bruised, my legs still ached, and I had a few cuts that would take a while to fully heal, but besides that, I was fine and alive and I definitely wanted to say that way.

When I was a few blocks away from Merlotte's, I felt oddly at ease. I was going to my first job, I had my own place and no vampires had come for me—yet. Though my mood had lightened, Eric was still heavy on my mind. That and the fact that Sookie and I were probably sitting on bad terms. As the parking lot of Merlotte's came into view, I forced everything out of my head and tried to maintain a positive attitude. I was going to do a good job today and I wasn't going to give Sam and the bar patrons a reason to think I wasn't capable of working there.

* * *

My first day at Merlotte's was going surprisingly well. The majority of the customers didn't stare or whisper about my outburst yesterday, Tara didn't come into work, and Lafayette was in the kitchen instead of Terry. Not that I didn't like having Terry around, it was just that there were a lot of people in tonight and Terry tends to silently freak out when he's around too many people. Plus, Lafayette tends to be more talkative.

"Baby girl," Lafayette said as he turned to look at me come through the kitchen door. "If you want to earn a decent living as a waitress you gotta get good tips. To get good tips, you gotta wear a lil bit of makeup," he paused and looked me up and down, "And maybe some tighter clothes."

I grinned. "The tips I'm getting now are just fine. It's not like I have any rent to pay right now."

Lafayette turned away from the stove dramatically to look at me. "Why is that? You sleeping with your landlord?"

He swiveled his hips seductively and I stared at him with a shocked expression on my face.

"Ugh!" I said with a smile as I turned to leave. "You're unbelievable!"

"You never denied it." He yelled after me.

"I'm not!" I yelled back over the loud music and chattering customers.

* * *

The next three weeks went past in a blur. I'd wake up, hang out Andre sometimes and go to work later that night. By this time, I'd gotten my uniform, bought a cellphone, and got a great deal on an old Toyota from one of Jason's friends who were moving out of town. It looked crappy and Sam said the engine had to be worked on, but it got me from point A to point B, so it was good enough.

Today, Merlotte's was slow. There was a carnival in Shreveport and almost everybody and their momma went to it. Andy was here at the bar like he usually is on Saturdays when he's off duty. It was 4pm, but he'd already started drinking. He was sitting in Arlene's section, but she took the day off to go to the carnival with Terry and her kids, so I covered for her.

Andy beckoned me over with a wave of his hand. I threw Sam an amused glance before I made my way over to his table and sat across from him.

"Alright, Andy?" I asked as I picked up 3 of his empty beer bottles.

"Never been better. The bar is quiet and I don't have to work tomorrow." He grumbled.

"What can I get you?" I asked as I silently hoped his answer wasn't more alcohol.

"Onion rings," He said. "And a side order or chili; _**mild**_, not **spicy**!"

"Coming right up." I said as I stood up and took the beer bottles with me.

Just then, the front door of the bar opened and Andre walked in. He waved to me as soon as we made eye contact and I smiled and waved back.

After I gave Sam Andy's order, I walked over to the bar where Andre had taken a seat.

"Hey, I thought you were going to the carnival today with your sister?" I asked as I got his usual beer out of the fridge for him.

"I am," He said as he took the beer and nodded his head in a thankful gesture. "I wanted to see if you wanted to come with me."

My movements faltered and I turned to stare at him.

"I heard it's pretty fun." He said as he picked at the label on his beer, "Lots of rides and prizes and all that other ridiculous stuff."

"I'd like to go, but I'm working till 10 and Fran and I are the only waitresses in today." I leaned in to whisper, "Fran's new, and she can't do a thing by herself."

"Oh," Andre said with slight disappointment in his voice. "That's fine. We'll hang out some other time."

"Adrianne, why don't you take off?" Sam said as he poked his head out from the kitchen. "The place is pretty dull and Sookie and Arlene will be here in a little over an hour."

"No." I said firmly. "I'll stay. I can't keep letting you encourage me to slack, Sam. Andre and I can hang out some other time, right Andre?"

I turned to look at Andre expectantly and he nodded.

Sam looked at me then back to Andre before he sighed. "Well, alright."

He turned to disappear back into the kitchen. I gave his retreating form an odd look before I shrugged and turned back to Andre.

"Well, I better get going. I told my sister I would be right back so I can't idle around." He said as he handed me some money for the beer and got up.

"Call me later and tell me how it goes." I said as I walked around to the cash register.

"Will do." He called over his shoulder.

I watched him until he was out the door. While I stood there recalling how deflated he sounded, Fran tapped me on my shoulder to get my attention. I turned to look at her.

"I gotta take a break. Can you cover the customers coming in? Thanks."

I opened my mouth to protest, but she practically ran out the door to greet some guy.

I sighed. I had no idea why Sam hired her. She was as smart as a sack of rocks and she took too many breaks. As she and the guy started to kiss, I scrunched up my face and began to get back to work. Hopefully Sam would notice how useless she was and fire her soon.

* * *

I left the bar at 10:30. I was tired. As the day progressed, more and more people started to come in. Sookie called off, which was a surprise since she didn't take a lot of time off especially at the last minute, but the rest of the staff managed without her.

It was humid outside and as I was driving home, I began to anticipate a nice, cool shower and a very long nap since I didn't have to work tomorrow.

I was home in about 6 minutes. I parked the car, got out and made my way up to the porch. When I reached the door, I started fishing around in my handbag for my keys when a familiar voice startled me to near death.

"Evening!" Pam said from behind me. I jumped and dropped my bag on the floor, making everything spill out of it. I turned around with my hand on my chest. She was smiling radiantly with a hint of humor in her eyes and I dropped my hands and glared at her.

"You almost scared me to death." I said as I bent down to pick up my bag. "You vampires don't call before showing up?"

"This is important." She replied from above me.

I packed all of the spilled items back into my bag before I sighed and began to stand up. "What could be so-"

I stopped dead in my tracks. Standing right behind Pam and looking down at me with an unreadable expression was Eric.

I dropped my bag again and this time, I heard something break. It was probably my foundation case or my cellphone, but I really didn't care.

"Eric…?" I said quietly. "You're alive."

"Technically, no." Pam spoke up, drawing my attention to her. "Are you going to be a good host and let us in or are you going to gawk at him all night?"

I bent down to pick up my keys so quickly that my head swam when I stood up straight again. I fumbled to unlock the door and when I finally did, I opened it and motioned them in with a wave of my hand.

I picked up my bag and looked around quickly to make sure nobody saw Pam and Eric before I went inside and shut the door behind me. I turned on the lights once I was inside before I quickly deactivated the alarm. Like the first time she was here, Pam started looking around the living room as soon as she stepped inside. She was eyeing everything with mild interest. Eric was standing close to her. She turned to mumble something to him in Swedish, and he answered with a nod. He hadn't spoken yet. Under the fluorescent lighting of the crappy ceiling lamp, Eric's eyes looked hollow, his hair was askew and his skin was paler than usual.

He had no visible cuts, bruises or sores, but he still looked pained.

"What did they do to you?" I asked as I stepped closer to him. When he made no indication of answering me, I reached out to touch him. With a blur of movement, he reached up and gripped my wrist with his cold hand.

"Eric, are you alright?" I asked quietly. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but instead he closed it again. While still holding my wrist, he turned to Pam and spoke to her in a low voice.

"Vänta på mig utanför."

Pam nodded and went outside without a word. Once she was gone, Eric finally released my hand.

"To answer your question, I'm fine."

"You don't look fine, Eric. Something's wrong."

"I will be fine."

I decided not to push things anymore. He was here and he was alive as a vamp can get and that's all that matters, right?

"Everything's finished and over with, right?"

"For the foreseeable future, yes." Eric said. "My debt has been paid, Pam is safe and you're free to carry on with your life."

I sighed in relief and let out a little breathless laugh. "Thank god. I've been waiting to hear something like that for a while now."

Eric looked around the room. His eyes never really stopped on anything in particular, but I could tell he was taking everything in. The room was oddly quiet. The only sound apparent was my breathing, which sounded labored to my own ears.

"I was really worried about you." I blurted out before I could stop myself.

"Were you?" Eric said, sounding genuinely interested.

"Well, of course I was. I thought you were dead for sure."

"I am dead."

"Now's not the time for jokes, Eric."

Eric only grinned and turned his back to me to look out the window at Pam. She was quite easy to spot with her pacing directly under the bright street lights.

"We should talk." I said after I figured he wasn't going to say much else.

"About?" Eric asked without turning to look at me.

"What happened in New Orleans."

The front door opened and Pam reentered the house with an impatient look on her face.

"It's 10:53." She said and Eric nodded. He turned to look at me with a listless expression on his face before he stepped closer to me with a painfully slow stride.

"There is nothing to talk about."

I stared at him blankly for a few seconds before I opened my mouth to speak.

"Ok. Maybe you should come back and talk to me when you're feeling better because you're acting really callous."

"You should move on." He said suddenly.

"Move on?"

"Forget it and move on with whatever you were doing before this mess happened."

"I can't just forget all of this and go back to being normal. I almost died! I helped you kill someone! How the fuck am I supposed to just 'move on'?" My heart was racing now and the only thing keeping me from attempting to strangle him was the fact that it would be useless since he doesn't breathe.

"It shouldn't be too difficult." He said coolly. "There really wasn't anything there anyway."

"I slept with you." I said more to myself than to him. "I let you bite me. I **drank** your blood!"

"If it helps to know, the effects of my blood will wear off eventually."

Suddenly, as if I'd lost control of my body, I felt my hand moving before it connected with the side of his face. The sound of the slap seemed to echo against the walls. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Pam flinch. I'd forgotten she was still standing in the corner. I was too overcome with anger to be embarrassed about her seeing all of this unfold.

Eric closed his eyes for a brief second while I relished the stinging pain in my palm. Slapping him didn't make me feel any better, but it did evoke some emotion out of him, which seemed to be steadily building anger. That was good enough for me.

"What did you expect?"

"A little bit of fucking respect, maybe?"

"You need to understand that you're no different than any other human I've been with! I don't want a human companion. You're all temporary!"

"Get out!" I said angrily. A look of panic crossed his face for a quick second before he started to walk backwards towards the door. I turned to look at Pam who was still standing over by the corner looking between Eric and I with mild concern.

"You too." I said to her as I pointed at the door. "Get the fuck out!"

She walked out calmly as if she was leaving by choice, but her quick pace was evidence of the strong force pushing her out the door. When they were both on the porch, I walked over to the door and shut it without looking at them. I leaned my back against the door and held my breath. There was quiet murmuring then retreating footsteps before everything went completely silent.

I slid to the floor and concentrated on breathing in and out as slowly as I could to calm myself.

While my breathing evened out, I tried to figure out how I was going to handle what just happened. Maybe Sookie was right about Eric. Maybe Sam was right about vampires in general.

I staggered up from the floor and walked into the bathroom, slamming the door behind me. I stared at my reflection in the mirror, feeling more and more like complete and utter crap by the second. I should have never drunk Eric's blood. I should have never let him get under my skin. I should have never let him touch me period. When I felt tears began to prickle the back of my eyes, I blinked them away as quickly as I could. I was not going to cry over Eric.

I let out a huge regretful sigh. As much as I can try to deny it, I had feelings for him. Feelings that sprang out of nowhere and imprinted itself under my skin. Maybe it was his blood. Maybe when it faded away, like he said it would, the feelings will simmer out.

I began to hear the faint sound of my cellphone ringing from out in the living room. With one last withered glance at my reflection, I dragged myself out into the main room and reached my phone before it went to voicemail.

I pushed the 'talk' button and answered it without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Adrianne." Sookie said breathlessly on the other line. "Bill just stopped by the bar to tell me that Eric called him around 8. Apparently, he's been back for about 2 days… or nights."

"Yeah, I saw him. He came by with Pam not too long ago."

Sookie was silent for a slight moment. "Well, you don't sound too happy."

"I'm not." I said, hoping Sookie wouldn't ask me to elaborate.

I heard some shifting in the background before I heard Sookie whisper to Sam, 'Give me 5 more minutes.' After a few moments, she came back and spoke hastily into the phone.

"What do you mean?"

I sighed and flopped down on the sofa. "I'd rather not talk about it right now."

"Well… alright." Sookie said hesitantly. "Well, you can call if you need anything."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks."

"I'll talk to you later."

"K. Bye."

I hung up the phone and turned it off before I could get anymore unwanted calls. Then I realized that that I probably won't get any more calls in the first place because I barely spoke to anyone outside of Merlotte's. That idea made me feel oddly lonely. I was looking forward to one thing for the last three weeks. It came and went in a bitter blur and I was left feeling a bit at lost. I kicked my feet up on the sofa and closed my eyes. Before I drifted off to sleep, still in my work clothes with the lights on and the alarm system deactivated, I decided that the first thing I was going to do tomorrow was call Andre.

* * *

**A/N**  
**That's it for chapter 13.**

**ATTENTION. 1-18-2011  
FOR NOW, I WILL NOT BE UPDATING THIS STORY ANY MORE.  
Lately, I have been extremely busy and I'm currently in the process of moving across the country and starting a new job. I may continue this story again, but the chances are slim. Many, many thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, and stuck with me from chapter one. I appreciate you guys so much and I'm sorry to leave you hanging!  
**


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